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A New AND Improved Edition of the 

ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER 

or Manual of Domestic Management : containing Advice on 
the Conduct of Household Affairs, in a separate Treatise on 
> each particular department, and Practical Instructions concern- 
ing the Store-room, the Pantry, the Larder, the Kitchen, the 
Cellar, the Dairy. Together with remarks on the best means 
of rendering assistance to Poor Neighbours ; Hints for laying 
out small Ornamental Gardens ; and Directions for cultivating 
Herbs. The whole being intended for the use of Young Ladies 
who undertake the superintendence of their own Housekeeping. 

By ANNE COBBETT. 

" The English Housekeeper is a personage of far greater importance to 
English welfare, than the Prime Minister for the time being, or the School- 
master abroad or at home.— This book appears to us to be one of real value ; 
cue that will render permanent service to thousands, and would have made 
its writer's name known, had the name of Cobbett never previously 
been heard of. It combines all that is good, and applicable to general use- 
to the use of the great body of the middle classes— that is contained in other 
works, with very mubh that could only have been contributed by such 

i)Owers as Miss Cobbett possesses— a clear understanding, kindliness, and 
lumanity of feeling, sound knowledge, and habits of industry. In short, as 
a housekeeping book, adapted to the daily use of families, especially those 
that are neither ol the richest nor the poorest class, it is in all respects 
excellent ; and in addition to the numerous lessons relating to dishes simple 
or luxurious, we have some chapters that contain moral lessons, dishes for the 
mind, which all the world would be better for tasting. "—Cowr^ Journal. 

" Were we to cook our way through the pages of this closely-packed 
volume,— which, after all,;.would be the fairest method of giving an opinion 
of its value, it is probable that our task would hardly be ended in time for 
us to pronounce ourj^a^ upon the first edition. We must, therefore, take the 
shorter course of judging of the excellence of Miss Cobbett's receipts, 
directions, arid instructions, by the soundness of her general observations. 
These appear to us so simple, so liberal, and so full of common sense, that 
we are disposed to put full faith in the details of the yohime.—Athenceum. 

" This work is intended ' for the use of young ladies who undertake the 
superintendence of their own housekeeping.' It is well calculated to instruct 
them in the matter, and the book is certainly full of both nice and econo- 
mical ih-ings,— Monthly Repository. 

" A work not only of the greatest utility to an experienced cook, or a house- 
keeper, but clearly indispensable to a young married couple, where the lady, 
for instance, would take the direction of the housekeeping department ; 
and in this instance, we hesitate not in stating that, were this indispensable 
work referred to generally (as it contains every information), it would be a 
saving of at least one-half the usual expense attending housekeeping."— 
Blackwood's Lady's Magazine. 

" A sensible, complete, and practically useful manual of domestic econo- 
my, containing many excellent hints for young housewives."— i^pecta^or. 

" This is a book which, we venture to say, will prove an acquisition to all 
who may take advantage of those parts which ihe writer has evidently de- 
voted to. render it a perfect work of the hind."— Observer. 

" This is the completest work of the sort we have ever met with ; the di- 
rections, which are numerous, are given with terseness and simplicity,"— ^wra. 

" This work treats of Housekeeping in a way that must make it useful to 
families ; it is written in a clear and^simple style, and abounds with excellent 
receipts, which are not given with a view to fill the pages, but, to render the pro- 
viding family meals, an easy and comprehensible business,- fVHts Independent. 

" We know enough, after many years housekeeping, to satisfy us that this 
is a most valuable work, and one tnat we feel we can most conscientiously 
recommend to our residexs," —Brighton Patriot. 

" Its sterling good sense, its amiable tone of truly moral* sentiment, and its 
really valuable advice, entitle the English Housekeeper to' a perusal in every 
family circle, from the castle to the cotta.ge."— Monmouth Merlin. 
" 1'his is by far the most plain and useful treatise on the Art of Cookery, 
^l^^pl'ilosophy of domestic arrangements. The strong practical intellect 
which characterized Cobbett, has fallen in a great measure to his daughter, 
who has adopted his pure, homely, though inelegant style. The volume is 
what it pretends to be, no slight accommodation in these book-making days— 
and every subject is treated with great clearness and precision. We do not 
presume to decide upon the positive merit of her culinary orders, but we have 
°oubt they are all very correct. The introduction, general observations, 
and chapter on servants, we particularly recommend to the attention of 
housekeepers, young and old."— National Magazine, Feb. 1838. 



Published by Anne Cobbett, 137, Strand. 



y3- yS^^^ 



B. hKNSLKT, PRINTKR, rHIVP.s' BKIUUE; MITCHAM. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

On the arrangement of the divers matters contained in the subsequent 
: Chapters, and on the method ^vhich ought to be pursued in the studying 
of these matters. 

CHAPTER II. 

On the Situation, Form, and Extent, Enclosing and Laying-out, of 
Kitchen-gardens. 

CHAPTER III. 
On the making and managing of Hot-beds and Green-houses. 

CHAPTER IV. 
On Propagation and CUtivation in general. 

CHAPTER V. 

Kitchen-garden Plants, arranged in Alphabetical order, with Directions 
relative to the Propagation and Cultivation of each sort. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Fruits. — Propagation, Planting, and Training and Pruning, whether 
wall-trees, espaliers, or standards, with an xllphabetical List of the several 
Fruits, and with observations on the Diseases of Fruit-trees. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The formation of Shrubberies, Avith a List of Shrubs, and instructions 
as to the Propagation and Cultivation of each sort the formation of 
Flower-gardens, with a List of Flowers, and directions for the Propaga- 
tion and Cultivation of each sort: a List of Shrubs and Flowers, classed 
according to their proper uses, or situations, in the Shrubbery, or Flower- 
garden. Annexed is a Kalendar of the principal sowings, and other 
work, to be done in each month of the year j and an Index. 



THE 

ENGLISH GARDENER. 



CHAPTER I. 

On the arrangement] of the divers matters contained in the subsequent 
Chapters, and on the method which ought to he pursued in the studying 
of those matters. 

1. Before we begin to study the contents of any book ; that is 
to say, before we begin to endeavour to obtain a thorough know- 
ledge of those contents ; we ought, if possible, to get a clear and 
neat view of the outline of those contents, and of the purposes to 
which they are intended to become applicable. To insist, as some 
authors have done, on the utility of a knowledge of the means to 
obtain garden-plants, fruits, and flowers, would be useless. It is 
notorious that it is useful to have these things ; and, therefore, all 
that we have to do is, to obtain a knowledge of the means of ob- 
taining them in the greatest perfection, and with the least propor- 
tionate quantity of expense or trouble ; and also, with the least 
risk of experiencing a disappointment of our hopes. 

2. There must be, of necessity, numerous divisions of the matter, 
where subjects so numerous are to be treated of : and it is of great 
advantage to take a view of these several divisions before we 
enter upon the treatise. And, therefore, in this chapter, I shall 
endeavour to give the reader this view ; so that he ^vill see, not 
only what he is going to read about, but also the order in which 
the matter is intended to be brought before him. The second 
Chapter of the work will describe that which I deem to be the 
proper Situation of a garden ; next, it will treat of the Soil, its 
nature, its preparation, and the general mode of manuring it, and 
of making provision of manure : next, of the Form of the Kitchen- 
garden, and also of the extent necessary under different circum- 

B 



2 ARRANGEMENT OF MATTERS [CHAP. 

Stances ; next, of the manner of Enclosing the Garden, and of 
the Walls and other Fences applicable to the purpose. The Situ- 
ation having been fixed on, the Soil prepared, the Form deter- 
mined on, and the enclosures made, the next thing that will be 
presented to the reader will be the manner of laying out the ground 
within the enclosure, whether into plats, borders, or otherwise. 

3. The THIRD Chapter will form a sort of Episode, disconnected 
with the general course of the work. It will treat of the managing 
of Hot-beds and Green-houses : that is to say, it will treat of the 
management of things which are to be produced by artificial heat ; 
and that are cultivated by rules exclusively adapted to this species 
of gardening. I shall not treat of Hot-houses ^ the management of 
those being a science of itself, having nothing to do with gardening 
in general, and of use to comparatively very few persons. My 
object will be to make a book of general utility ; to do this, mo- 
derate bulk and moderate price are requisites ; and, to have these, 
the management of hot-houses must be necessarily excluded. 

4. The FOURTH Chapter will treat of Propagation and Culti- 
vation in general. First, of the sort of the seed, and of the 
methods of procuring true seed, and of ascertaining whether it be 
sound: next, of the manner of harvesting and of preserving seeds : 
next, of the manner of sowing seeds ; next, of transplanting plants : 
next of the after cultivation, until the plant be fit for the uses for 
which it is intended. 

5. After these general observations on propagation and culti- 
vation, there will follow in Chapter V. a complete list, in alpha- 
betical order, of all kitchen-garden plants, including pot-herbs, 
with particular instructions relative to each plant ; so that these 
instructions, together with the reader's previous knowledge re- 
specting propagation and cultivation in general, will leave nothing 
that will be unknown to him with regard to the kitchen-garden 
plants and pot-herbs. 

6. Next in Chapter VI. will come the important subject of 
Fruits. This Chapter will treat of the manner of propagating, 
rearing up, planting, pruning, and cultivating fruit-trees ; whether 
wall-trees, espaliers, or standards, and whether for the garden or 
the orchard ; also of those plants of inferior size which bring us 
gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and strawberries. After the 
instructions which will be given under these heads, and which will 
include observations on the diseases of fruit-trees, and on the 



IN THE WORK. 



3 



manner of curing those diseases, and of protecting the trees 
against the depredations of birds, vermin, and insects, will come 
an alphabetical list of fruits, noticing, under each name, anything 
peculiar and necessary to be known, respecting the management 
of the tree or plant. 

7. The SEVENTH, and last Chapter, will treat of the formation 
of Shrubberies and Flower-gardens ; will point out the proper 
shrubs suited to the several possible situations, and the several 
Flowers desirable to have as ornaments, together with the manner 
of placing them in the shrubberies or flower-gardens. Under the 
head of Shrubberies, there will be an alphabetical list of shrubs, 
with instructions against each relative to its propagation, pruning 
and cultivation. The same will follow in the case of Flower- 
gardens ; so that here also, with the general instructions taken 
into view, the reader will possess all the information necessary 
relative to these matters. 

8. Having thus obtained a knowledge with respect to what is 
to be done relative to every plant and tree known in the gardens, 
the work will conclude with the Kalendar, described in the title- 
page ; a veiy convenient thing, even for gardeners themselves ; 
and much more convenient for those whose pursuits in life neces- 
sarily render it impossible that the garden should be an object 
of their constant attention. Something depends upon the situa- 
tion, and a^so upon the nature of the ground ; for, in some 
ground, you may safely sow a fortnight earlier; and, in other 
ground, a fortnight later, than the fit season for sowing in the 
general run of ground. Nevertheless, this Kalendar is of great 
use in all cases ; because without it, many pieces of necessary work 
would be wholly omitted. The performance of them w^ould be put 
off to a season so late, that to perform them would be of no use 
at all. 

9. In the writing of this book, I shall proceed upon the prin- 
ciple, or, rather, the admitted assumption, that the reader is 
wholly unacquainted with all the matters of which it will treat. 
On the same principle I have proceeded in my three grammars ; 
in my Cottage Economy ; in my Woodlands ; and in every work 
in which I have attempted to teach anything. Experience has 
taught me the necessity of proceeding in this v, ay ; for, when I 
have had to apply to books to be my teachers, I have invariably 
found that the authors proceed upon the notion that the reader 

B 2 



4 



ARRANGEMENT OF JMATTERS 



[chap. 



only wanted a little teaching ; that he understood a great part of 
the subject, and only wanted mfoimation relative to that part 
which the author happened to think of the greatest importance. 
By looking on the reader as knowing nothing at all about the 
matter, the author is led to tell all that he knows. This can do 
gardeners, and gentlemen w ho have studied something of garden- 
ing, no harm ; while it must be good, and even necessary, to 
those who have never had an opportunity of paying close attention 
to the matter. I make no apology for the minuteness with which 
I shall give my instructions ; for my business is to teach that 
which I know ; and those who want no teaching, do not want 
my book. My opinion is, that any man who is so disposed, may 
become a good gardener by strictly attending to this W'Ork. If I 
knew of any other work so likely to effect this purpose, I should 
not undertake this. It is use ess to know how to write, unless by 
the use of that talent we communicate something useful to others. 
The reason w hy books on gardening are read in general with so little 
benefit, is this ; that they are put together by men (generally 
speaking, observe) who, though they understand how to do the 
thing themselves, and though they very sincerely wish to teach 
others, are unable to convey their instructions in language easily to 
be understood ; and easily it must be, to be attended with suc- 
cess ; for, the moment the reader comes to w hat he cannot under- 
stand, he begins to be weary ; and, the third or fourth occurrence 
of this sort makes him lay down the book. If he ever take it up 
again, it is from sheer necessity : and, instead of delight, disgust 
is likely to be the end of the attempt. 

10. The far greater part of persons who possess gardens, and 
who occasionally partake in the management of them, really know^ 
\ery little about the matter. They possess no jwinciples relating 
to the art : they do things pretty w^ell, because they have seen 
them done before ; but, for want of proceeding upon principle, 
that is to say, for the want of knowing the reasons for doing the 
several things that are done in the garden, they are always in a 
state of uncertainty : they know nothing of the causes, and, there- 
fore, are always rather guessing at, than relying upon, the effects. 
£ shall endeavour, in every case, to give a good reason for that 
which I recommend ; and, when once the learner knows the rea- 
son for that which he does, he may be said to have learnt it, and 
not before. Lord Bacon is well known to have taken great delight 



IN THE WORK, 



5 



in horticulture as well as in agriculture ; and Mr. Tull^ in his 
famous work on the Horse-hoeing husbandry, relates, that his 
Lordship, who had made a vast collection of books on these sub- 
jects, had them one day all collected together, omitting not one ; 
had the pile carried into the court-yard, and there set on fire ; 
saying, In all these books I find no principles ; they can, there 
fore, be of no use to any man ; he must get principles for himself, 
or he must go on till the elements have instructed him ; and, in 
either case, he can stand in no need of books like these." 

11. As to the manner of studying this book of mine, I would 
advise the reader to begin by reading it all through, from the 
beginning to the end ; and not to stop here or there, to learn one 
part of it at a tinie. If he were to do this three times over, it would 
only require the time frequently devoted to three or lour volumes of 
a miserable novel. This would give him an enlarged general view 
of the whole matter ; and he might then apply himself to any par- 
ticular part of which he might more immediately stand in need of 
knowledge in detail. This is not a work of that kind which would 
require to be transcribed to be firmly fixed in the mind : three 
careful readings from the beginning to the end might suffice, until 
the reader came to put the instructions in practice ; and then he 
would go into the detail, being particularly attentive not to omit 
any part of that which the book recommended him to do ; for, a 
part omitted may, and frequently does, render all that is done of 
no use. Mr. Tull very justly complained that those who con- 
demned his scheme (and it is curious that Voltaihe was one of 
these), and asserted that they had tried it and found it to fail, 
always omitted some one thing, which omission rendered the other 
operations abortive. Mr. Tull said, Their great error is in the 
misuse of the word IT : they say they have tried IT : they have 
tried some thing, to be sure ; but they have not tried my scheme." 
Voltaire, in one of his letters (I forget to whom), says, as nearly 
as I can recollect the words, J'ai essay e le fameux systeme de 
Monsieur Tull, de FAngleterre, et je vous avoue que je le trouve 
abominable. '''^^ He goes on, however, to show most satisfactorily 
that it was not the system of Mr. Tull that he had tried ; for he 
says, Les intervalles, ou les espaces entre les sillons, furent, des 



* I have tried the famous system of Mr. Tull, of England, and I confess to you 
that I find it to be abominable. 



6 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



le mois de Mai, remplis de mauvaises herbes, qui ont bientot 
6toiiffe le ble."* So that he had tried it after the manner of 
those ^vhom Mr. Tull had complained of in England ; that is to 
say, he had made the ridges, sowed the rows of w^heat, all in very 
exact proportions as to distance and everything else ; but he had 
not ploughed or horse-hoed the intervals ; whereas that operation 
was the very soul of the system. 

12. Thus it is with but too many persons, who complain of hav- 
ing failed, though, as they allege, they have pursued the instruc- 
tions given them. They do not pursue those instructions except in 
part ; therefore, I beg leave to caution the reader against falling 
into this error ; a caution particularly necessary to those who leave 
the performance to others : it is useless to see a part done, if you 
neglect to see the other parts done : with this caution, as necessary 
as any that I can possibly give, I conclude this introductory chapter. 



CHAPTER II. 

On the Situation^ Soil, Form and Extent, Enclosing, and Laying 
out, of Kitchen- Gardens. 



SITUATION. 

13. If one could have what one wished, in point of situation, 
from the wall on the north side of the garden, after a little flat of 
about a rod wide, one would have a gentle slope towards the south, 
about thirty feet in wddth. The remainder of the ground, to the 
wall on the south side of the garden, one would have on a true 
level. The gentle slope contributes to early production ; and 
though it is attended with the inconvenience of w ashing, from heavy 
rains, that inconvenience is much more than made up for by the 
advantage attending the circumstance of earliness. I recollect the 
ancient kitchen-garden, which had been that of the monks, at 
Waverley Abbey. It lay full to the south, of course ; it had a high 
hill to the back of it, and that hill covered with pretty lofty trees. 
The wall on this north side of the garden w as from twelve to four- 
teen feet high, built partly of flints, and partly of the sand-stone, 

* The intervals, or the spaces, between the ridges, were, from tl;e month of Mav, 
full of weeds, which quickly smothered the wheat. 



II.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



7 



which is found in abundance in the neighbourhood, and it was about 
three feet through, even at the top. The ground of which the 
garden consisted had been the sloping foot of a hill, taking in a 
part of the meadow that came after the hill, and lay between it and 
the river Wey. A flat of about twenty feet wide had been made 
on the side of the hill, and, at the back of this flat, the wall was 
erected. After the flat, towards the south, began the slope ; at the 
end of the slope began the level ground, which grew more and 
more moist as it approached the river. At the foot of the garden 
there ran a rivulet, coming from a fish-pond, and at a little distance 
from that, emptying itself into the river. The hill itself w as a bed 
of sand ; therefore, the flat, at the back of which the north wall 
stood ; that is to say, the wall on the north side of the garden ; 
this flat must have been made ground. The slope must have been 
partly made, otherwise it would have been too sandy. 

14. This was the finest situation for a kitchen-garden that I ever 
saw. It Avas wholly torn to pieces about fifty years ago ; the wall 
pulled down ; the garden made into a sort of lawn, and the lower 
part of it, when I saw the spot about three years ago, a coarse, 
rushy meadow, all the drains which formerly took away the oozings 
from the hill, having been choked up or broken up ; and that spot 
where the earliest birds used to sing, and where prodigious quanti- 
ties of the finest fruits used to be borne, was become just as sterile 
and as ill-looking a piece of ground, short of a mere common or 
neglected field, as I ever set my eyes on. That very spot w here I 
had seen bushels of hautboy strawberries, such as I have never seen 
from that day to this ; that very spot, the precise locality of w hich 
it took me (so disfigured was the place !) the better part of an 
hour to ascertain, was actually part of a sort of swampy meadow, 
producing sedgy grass and rushes. This most secluded and beau- 
tiful spot was given away by the ruthless tyrant, Henry the Eighth, 
to one of the basest and greediest of his cormorant courtiers, Sir 
William Fitzwilliams ; it became afterwards, according to 
Grose, the property of the family of Orby Huntee, ; from that 
family it passed into the hands of a Sir Robert Rich, much 
about fifty years ago. The monastery had been founded by GlF- 
FARD, bishop of Winchester, who brought to inhabit it the first 
community of Cistercian monks that were settled in England, He 
endowed the convent at his own expense ; gave it the manor and 
estate, and gave it also the great tithes of the parish of Farnham, 



8 



SITUATION;, SOIL, 



[chap. 



in ^vhich it lies, A lofty sand-hill sheltered it to the north ; others, 
in the fomi of a crescent, sheltered it to the east. It was well shel- 
tered to the west ; open only to the south, and a little to the south- 
west. A vallev let in the river Wey at one end of this secluded spot, 
and let it out at the other end. Close under the high hill on the 
north side, a good mansion-house had been built by the proprietors 
who succeeded the monks ; and these proprietors, though they had 
embellished the place with serpentine walks and shrubberies, had 
had the good taste to leave the ancient gardens, the grange, and 
as much of the old -avails of the convent as was standing ; and, 
upon the whole, it was one of the most beautiful and interesting 
spots in the world. Sir Robert Rich tore even thing to atoms, 
except the remaining wall of the convent itself. He e^ en removed 
the high hill at the back of the ^■aIley : actually carried it away in 
carts and wheelbarrows ; built up a new-fashioned mansion-house 
with ^rev bricks, made the place look as bare as possible ; and, in 
defiance of nature, and of all the hoar of antiquity, made it very 
little better than the vulgar box of a cockney. 

15. I must be excused for breaking out into these complaint^. It 
was the spot where I first began to learn to work, or, rather, ^vhere 
I first began to eat fine fruit, in a garden ^ and though I have now 
seen and observed upon as many fine gardens as any man in Ens:- 
land, I have never seen a garden equal to that of Waverley. 
Ten families, large as they might be, including troops of servants 
(who are no churls in this way), could not have consumed the fruit 
produced in that garden. The peaches, nectarines, apricots, fine 
plums, never failed ; and, if the workmen had not lent a hand, a 
fourth part of the produce never could have been got rid of. Sii* 
Robert Rich buf.t another kitchen-garden, and did not spare 
expense ; but he stuck the walls up in a field, un-heltered bv hills 
and trees; and, though it was twice the size of the monks' garden,. 
I dare say it has never ydelded a tenth part of the produce. 

16. It is not every-where that spots like this are to be found : 
and we must take the best that we can get, never forgetting, how- 
ever, that it is most miserable taste to seek to poke away the 
kitchen-garden, in order to get it out of sight. If well managed, 
nothing is more beautiful than the kitchen-garden : the eififiest 
blossoms come there : we shall in vain seek for fiowering shrubs in 
March, and early in April, to equal the peaches, nectarines, apri- 
cots, and plums ; late in April, we shall find nothing to equal the 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



9 



pear and the cherry ; and, in May, the dwarf, or espaUer, apple- 
trees, are just so many hnmense garlands of carnations. The walks 
are unshaded : they are not greasy or covered with moss, in the 
spring of the year, like those in the shrubberies : to watch the 
progress of the crops is by no means unentertaining to any rational 
creature ; and the kitchen-garden gives you all this long before the 
ornamental part of the garden affords you anything worth looking 
at. Therefore, I see no reason for placing the kitchen-garden in 
some out-of-the-way place, at a distance from the mansion-house, 
as if it were a mere necessary evil, and unworthy of being viewed 
by the owner. In the time of fruiting, where shall we find any- 
thing much more beautiful to behold than a tree loaded with cher- 
ries, peaches, or apricots, but particularly the two latter ? It is 
curious enough that people decorate their chimney-pieces with 
imitations of these beautiful fruits, while they seem to think nothing 
at all of the originals hanging upon the tree, with all the elegant 
accompaniments of flourishing branches, buds, and leaves. 

17. We must take, as I said before, the best ground that w-e 
have ; and, for my part, I w ould take it almost any-where, except in 
the front of a mansion-house. It must absolutely be open to the 
south : well-sheltered, if it can be, from the north and from the 
east ; but open to the south it must be, or you can have neither 
fine wall fruit, nor early crops of garden-plants. If you can have 
the slope, such as I have described it to have been at Waverley, 
it is easy to make a flat before the face of the wall, on the north 
side of the garden : but to have the whole of a garden upon a slope 
is by no means desirable ; for, however gentle the slope may be, 
the water will run off ; and, in certain cases, it is absolutely neces- 
sary that the water should not run away ; but have time to soak 
gently into the ground. I have had great opportunity of acquiring 
knowledge in this respect. Part of my ground at Kensington forms 
a very gentle slope. The soil of this slope is as good, both at top 
and bottom, as any ground in the world ; but I have always per- 
ceived that seeds never rise there with the same alacrity and the 
same vigour that they do upon the level part, though there the soil 
is much inferior. This is particularly the case with regard to 
strawberries, which will grow, blow like a garland, and even bear 
pretty numerously, on the side of a bank where scarcely any 
moisture can lodge ; but which I have never seen produce large 
and fine fruit except upon the level. The same may be said of 



10 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



almost every garden plant and tree ; and, therefore, if I could avoid 
it, I would always have some part of a garden not upon the slope. 
Slopes are excellent for early brocoli, early cabbages, winter 
spinage, onions to stand the winter, artichokes to come early, early 
peas, early beans, and various other things ; but there ought to be 
some part of the garden upon a true level ; for, when the month 
of June comes, that is the part of the garden which will be 
flourishing. 

18. As to shelter, hills, buildings, lofty trees, all serve for the 
purpose ; but the lofty trees ought not to stand too near. They 
ought not to shade by any means and none of their leaves ought 
to drop into the garden. Leaves from such trees, blown into the 
garden by high winds, are merely a temporary inconvenience ; but 
shade would do injury, though, perhaps, if not too deep, counter- 
balanced by the warmth and the shelter that the trees would aflbrd. 

19. Before I quit this subject of Situation, I cannot refrain 
from attempting to describe one kitchen-garden in England, to 
behold which is well worth the trouble and expense of a long 
journey, to any person who has a taste in this way : I mean 
that of Mr. Henry Drummond, at Albury, in the county of 
Surrey. This garden is, in my opinion, nearly perfection, as far 
as relates to situation and form. It is an oblong square ; the 
wall on the north side is close under a hill ; that hill is crowned 
with trees which do not shade the garden. There is a flat, or 
terrace in the front of this wall. This terrace consists, first, of a 
border for the fruit-trees to grow in, next of a broad and beau- 
tiful gravel walk, then, if I recollect rightly, of a strip of short 
grass. About the middle of the length, there is a large basin sup- 
plied with water from a spring coming out of the hill, and always 
kept full. The terrace is supported, on the south side of it, by 
a wall that rises no higher than the top of the earth of the 
terrace. Then comes another flat, running all the way along ; this 
flat is a broad walk, shaded completely by two row s of yew-trees, 
the boughs of which form an arch over it : so that, here, in this 
kitchen-garden, there are walks for summer as well as for winter : 
on the gravel-walk you are in the sun, sheltered from every wind ; 
and, in the yew-tree walk, you are completely shaded from the 
sun in the hottest day in summer. From the yew-tree walk the 
ground slopes gently down towards the brook which runs towards 
Sheer through Albury, down to Chilworth ; where, after sup- 



u.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



11 



plying the paper-mills and powder-mills, it fall into the river 
Wey. The two end walls of the garden have plantations of trees 
at the back of them ; so that, except that here is no ground, 
but the terrace, which is not upon the slope, this garden, which 
is said to have been laid out by Sir Philip Evelyn for some 
member of the family of Howard, is everything that one could 
wish. The mansion-house stands at a little distance opposite the 
garden, on the other side of the brook ; and, though all the grounds 
round about are very pretty, this kitchen-garden constitutes the 
great beauty of the place. Here, too, though Evelyn might have 
revivedj this charming spot was chosen, the garden was madey and 
the cloister of yew-trees planted, by the monks of the Priory of 
St. Austin, founded here in the reign of Richard I., and the estates 
of which Priory were given by the bloody tyrant to Sir Anthony 
Brown. 



SOIL. 

20. The plants and trees which grow in a garden, prefer, like 
most others, the best soil that is to be found ; and the best is good 
fat loam at the top, with a bottom that suffers the wet gently to 
escape. But we must take that which we happen to have, avoiding, 
if we possibly can, a stiff clay or gravel, not only as a top-soil, but 
as a bottom-soil also, unless at a very great distance. Oak-trees 
love clay, and the finest of that sort of timber grows on such 
land ; but no trees that grow in a garden love clay, and they 
are still less fond of gravel, which always burns in summer time, 
and which sucks up the manure, and carries it away out of the 
reach of the roots of the plants. Chalk, if it be too near to 
the top, is not good ; but it is better than clay or gravel ; and by 
the means of trenching, of which I shall presently speak, chalky 
soil may make a very good garden ; for chalk never burns in 
summer, and is never wet in winter ; that is to say, it never causes 
stagnant water. It absorbs it, and retains it, until drawn upwards % 
by the summer sun. And hence it is that the chalky downs are 
fresh and green, while even the meadows in the valleys are burned 
up so as to be perfectly brown. No tree rejects chalk ; chalk 
is not apt to produce canker in trees ; and, upon the whole, it 
is not a bad soil even for a garden, while, if it have a tolerable 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



depth of earth on the top of it, it is, taking all things together, 
the pasturage, the sound roads, the easy cultivation in all weathers, 
the healthiness which it invariably gives to cattle of all sorts, the 
very best land in the world for a farm ; and I, who have per- 
haps seen as many farms and home-steds as any man in England, 
and in as many different situations, never saw such fine, such 
beautiful, such generally productive, such neat and really rich 
farms, as in countries consisting entirely of chalk, excepting the 
mere bottoms of the valleys along which run the brooks and 
the rivers, and here, too, are the finest of all the watered meadows 
that I ever saw. 

21. I am by no means, therefore, afraid of chalk, especially as 
houses are seldom built, and kitchen-gardens seldom wanted on 
chalk hills. In chalky countries, kitchen-gardens are generally 
wanted on the sides of such hills where there is generally consi- 
derable depth of soil above the chalk ; in which case there can 
seldom be better soil for a kitchen-garden, if the proper prepa- 
rations be made ; and of those preparations I am now about 
to speak. 

22. Having fixed upon the spot for the garden, the next thing 
is to prepare the ground. I shall suppose it to be part of a field, 
or of a coppice : in the former case, there must be ploughing and 
harrowing to destroy the roots of all weeds most effectually : in 
the latter, complete grubbing, so as to leave no roots of timber- 
trees or underwood in the ground ; and then must come an 
operation absolutely indispensable to the making of a good garden ; 
that is to say, trenching to the depth of two feet at the least ; and, 
as asparagus, and some other things, send their roots down to 
a much greater depth than two feet, the whole ought to be trenched 
to the depth of three feet, with a spit of digging at the bottom 
of each trench, which would move the ground to the depth of 
three feet nine inches, or thereabouts. 

23. According to the common manner of trenching, the top-soil 
would be turned dowii to the bottom of the trench, and the bottom- 
soil brought up to the top ; so that you have it at the top, if the 
land be chalky, a bed of sheer chalk ; if clayey, a bed of clay, 
and so on ; and, in the very best of land, you bring up to the top 
matter which has never seen the sun, and which, in spite of every- 
thing that you can do in the way of tillage as well as in the way 
of manure, will requise many years before it will become gmund 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



13 



fit to bear crops in the manner that it ought to bear them. I have 
taken away, sometimes, a bank which separated two fields : I 
have dug, manured, and done everything in my power to enrich 
the land on which the bank stood ; but have never, in any instance, 
been able to make it, even at the end of several years, equal to 
the land adjoining it. The truth is, this ground had been so long 
out of the reach of the influence of the elements, the sun, the 
frosts, the snows, the air, the rains and the dews, that it was not 
tit for performing that which earth will not perform without the 
assistance of these elements. 

24. Therefore, in the work of trenching, the top soil must he 
kept at the top. This is to be done with the greatest facility 
imaginable, and with comparatively very little additional expense. 
Having, in The Woodlands, given full directions for the per- 
forming of this work, I have here little more to do than to repeat 
that which I have said there, accompanying my instructions with 
an explanatory plate. This I may lawfully do, it being only pur- 
loining from myself ; this method never having been pointed out 
by any other writer on the subject, as Jar as I have observed ; nor 
have I perceived that even the thought ever entered the mind of 
any other man. Yet the reader will perceive that, without pur- 
suing this method, it would be impossible to make a good garden 
in some kinds of soil. 

25. The piece of ground that I propose to be made into a 
garden will be, from outside to outside, ten rods wide and 
fifteen rods long. This piece of ground ought to be marked 
into strips or liftSy each a rod wide, in the manner described 
below. This division into narrow strips takes place, because the 



a 
b 


B 


D 


F 


H 


K 


M 


O 


Q 


S 


c 




















A 


C 


E 


G 


I 


L 


N 


P 


R 


T 



14 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



earth which comes out of the first trench must go to fill up 
the last trench ; and, therefore, in this case, there would be 
prett}- nearly a hundred cart-loads of earth to be carted, or 
wheeled, from one end of the piece to the other : whereas, by 
proceeding in the way of strips, you fill up the trench with 
hardly any wheeling at all. The ground being laid out in strips, 
you begin at c, ani take off all the top earth of a cross strip t^vo 
feet wide ; and you wheel that earth to the end of the further strip 
at S. The little cross strip a is marked out by sti-aining a line 
across the great strip, and making a chop with the spade. When 
you have taken away the top earth of c, mark out the cross strip 
h, and wheel away its top earth also to the same place as before, 
laying this top earth altogether in one round snug heap, just 
without the limits of the ground at S. You have now got the top 
earth away from the tw^o first trenches a and 5. You next take 
out the bottom earth of the trench a, down to the depth of three 
feet, and you wheel that away and put it into a round and snug 
heap, distinct from the other heap, at the end of the further strip 
at S. You have now the trench a quite empty down to three feet 
deep ; you then move the earth with a spade, or other tool, to the 
depth of nine inches at the bottom of the trench a : then you take 
the bottom earth of the trench h, aud keep putting it into the 
trench a, until you have gone to the depth of three feet ; then you 
dig or move the earth nine inches deep again at the bottom 
of the trench b: then you take the top earth from the trench c, and 
lay it upon the top of the trench a. The trench h remains empts- 
all this time, and you have to toss the top earth of c across the 
trench b in order to place it upon the top of the trench a. The 
trench a is now finished : it has got the top earth of c on its top, 
and all its contents have been completely moved to the depth 
of three feet nine inches. You next take the bottom earth of c and 
turn it into the trench Z?; and when you have moved or dug the bot- 
tom of c in the same manner as you did that of a and h, you 
take the top earth of the trench d and put it upon the top of the 
trench Z>; and thus you go on till you arrive at A. When you 
arrive at A, you will find yourself with an empty trench at the end, 
and with a trench with no top earth upon it next to that at the end. 
You therefore now begin the second strip at C : you take the top earth 
of the first two feet wide, and put it upon top of the trench next 
to the end one of the last strip : you then take the bottom earth 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



15 



of the first two feet wide in this second strip and put it into the 
bottom of your last trench at A ; you then take the top earth of 
the second trench at C, and put it on the last trench at A. Thus 
the whole of the first strip is completed ; and you have again, as 
you had at a and 5, an empty trench at the end, and the trench 
next to it with the top earth taken off. You then proceed with 
the rest of this strip as you did with that of the other, until you 
come to B, w^hen you turn in at D, and do just the same as you 
did at C. You then go on to E, when you get there you turn in 
again at G, and thus you proceed till you come to S, when you 
will find yourself with the last trench completely empty, and with 
the next to the last w^anting the top earth. These are both ready 
for you. You take the heap of bottom earth, which came out of 
a, and put into your empty trench ; then you take the heap of top 
earth, which was w^heeled from a and h, and lay it on upon the 
two last trenches ; and thus all the ground will have been com- 
pletely moved to three feet nine inches deep, every part of it will 
have changed its place ; and you will find it to stand a foot or 
fifteen inches higher than the ground in the neighbourhood of it. 
Great care should be taken to lay the strips out by straight lines. 
The best way is to divide each end of the piece into rods by stick- 
ing up sticks ; and then to mark out the lines from one end of the 
piece to the other. If only very common care be taken, it is next 
to impossible not to have straight lines. Equal care should be taken 
that the trenches themselves be of equal width, and that the lines 
which mark them out be true and parallel ; but this is so easy a 
matter, a matter that it would be a shame, indeed, for any one to 
pretend difficulty in the performance of it. 

26. I have now to speak on the subject of manures as adapted 
to a garden. Different plants require different sorts of manure, 
and different quantities. It is certainly true that dung is not the 
best sort of manure for a garden : it may be mixed with other 
matter, and, if very jvell rotted, and almost in an earthy state, it 
may not be amiss ; but, if otherwise u^ed, it certainly makes the 
garden vegetables coarse and gross compared to what they are when 
raised with the aid of ashes, lime, chalk, rags, salt, and composts. 
Besides, dung creates innumerable weeds : it brings the seeds of 
the weeds along with it into the garden, unless it have first been 
worked in a hot-bed, the heat of which destroys the vegetative 
quality of the seeds. 



16 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



27. A great deal more is done by the fermentation of manures 

than people generally imagine : the shovellings of grass and turf 
from the sides of roads ; weeds or roots of weeds raked off from a 
field ; these laid in a gi eat heap and turned frequently during the 
year, having ashes (of wood), lime, rags, salt in a small proportion, 
mixed with the rest of the heap, made excellent manure. Provision 
of manure like this ought to be made, one heap being always ready 
to succeed another. As to salt, however, which is now so easy 
to be obtained, and which is perhaps the cheapest manure of all, 
care must be taken that the proportion of it be not too great. 
About thirty bushels, perhaps would be enough for the whole exte;it 
of the garden at one time : and the best way would be, at the 
outset, to put this thirt}' bushels into a heap of stuff consisting 
of about a hundred cart-loads, mix the whole well together bv 
turning it several times, and manure the ground all over before the 
plantnig or sowing is begun. Afterwards new heaps would ])e 
formed, and the same proportion of salt might be used. Anv other 
general manuring might not be wanted : the hot-beds would pro- 
duce a great deal : and even with this hot-bed dung, some salt 
might be mixed : not, hov\-ever, with a \iew of destroying worais, 
as some people imagine it to do : for it will destrov M'onns onlv 
when it is used in sufficient quantities to destroy plants, which 
it \nll do most effectually and most speedily, if, in its unmixed 
state, it come at their roots. I shall, hereafter, have to speak 
about manuring for different plants ; and having made these 
general obsen"ations on the subject, I now proceed to speak of the 
funii and extent of the garden. 



FORM AND EXTENT OE THE GARDEN. 

28. It is desirable to have as much wall facing the south as you 
possiblv can have, without incurring inconvej^iences which would 
attend a long narrow slip. A.t least, it is desirable to have a 
sood portion of wall facing in that direction. If the garden be 
already foraied, you must keep what you have got ; but if you 
have to choose, it ought to be more exten-ive from east to west 
than from north to south : an oblong square is the proper form ; 
and it verv conveniently happens that the proportions ought to be 
much about those of one of the sides of this book, when neatly 



ENCLOSING^ LAYING OUT. 



17 



bound and lying upon the table, which is five in length, and three 
in breadth ; that is to say, a piece of ground, to resemble it in form, 
would contain five feet in length for every three feet in breadth. I 
am about to recommend a garden to be wailed in, in the first 
place, and then surrounded with a hedge. The dime sions within 
the walls I recommend to be (casting away a trifling fraction) two 
hundred and fifteen feet long, and one hundred and thirty-two feet 
wide ; that is to say, thirteen rods long, at sixteen feet and a half 
to the rod, and eight rods wide, the area being one hundred and 
four square rods ; sixteen rods short of three quarters of an acre. 

29. The walls (of the construction of which I shall speak pre- 
sently) would be half thrown away in point of horticultural utility, 
unless there were a piece of garden ground all round them on the 
outside, and that piece of garden ground protected by an efi^ectual 
fence. Of this fence I shall also presently speak ; but, to con- 
clude the subject of dimensions, the piece of ground, between the 
wall and the outer fence, ought to be a clear rod wide, which would 
add forty-two rods of ground to the hundred and foui enclosed 
within the walls, making, in the whole, of garden ground, a hun- 
dred and fifty-six square rods, being fourteen square rods short of 
a statute acre. I know that some noblemen and gentlemen find 
twice or three times this quantity of land insufficient for supplying 
their houses, though in each house there is but one family ; but 
if these noblemen and gentlemen were first to take a look, at any 
time of the year, at a market garden in the parish of Fulham, and 
then go immediately and take a look over their own gardens, they 
would clearly perceive the cause of the insufficiency of their own. 
In the former, they would see that there was not a single square 
yard of ground tenanted by weeds, cabbage-stumps, or plants of 
lettuce, and other things, suifered to stand and go uselessly to 
seed ; and, in the latter, they would find all these in great abund- 
ance, and large spaces of ground left, apparently as if of no use at 
all. The quantity of kitchen vegetables which a hundred and forty- 
six rods of ground is capable of producing in the course of a year 
would astonish any man not accustomed to observe and to cal- 
culate upon the subject. IMany a gardener, with a smaller quan- 
tity of land, sends a hundred cart-loads of produce to the market 
in the course of a year, exclusive of plums, cherries, currants, 
gooseberries, raspberries, and strawberries. To speak of cabbages, 
for instance, a square rod of ground will contain about a hundred ; 

c 



18 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



and when are a hundred cabbages to be eaten in almost any family? 
Six square rods of winter spinage are more than sufficient to afford 
a constant supply for even the largest of families. Peas and beans 
require room ; but they are not long upon the ground, and other 
crops are coming on between them. In short, long experience and 
observation have convinced me that a large garden is of very little 
use ; and that, while it requires a great deal more labour than a 
small one to keep it in anything like good order, it is never made 
to produce so much. The manure has to be scattered over a larger 
space ; the idle ground is by no means idle in producing mischief : 
the weeds that are suffered to remain on it produce and nourish 
and breed up innumerable families of snails and slugs, w ood-lice, 
grubs, and all those things which destroy crops. The weeds, when 
dug in, generate these mischievous vermin, and furnish them with 
food at the same time. The grass that is turned in breeds the wire- 
worm ; so that the idle ground not only does no good, but produces 
a great deal of mischief, while the extent of the garden is really a 
valid pretence for the employment of a great number of hands. 



ENCLOSING. 

30. Under this head we are first to speak of the walls, which 
ought to be twelve feet high, two feet thick to the surface of the 
ground, and nine inches from the ground to the top, with a jam 
coming out six inches from the wall on the outside ; and these jams 
ought not to be more than eight or ten feet apart. This would 
give a wall quite smooth in the inside of the garden ; and, on the 
outside, the.Ye would be space for a good large wall-tree between 
every two jams. The top, or coping, of the wall, ought to consist 
of semicircular bricks, which should be put on in the firmest and 
best manner, and the joints well grouted or cemented. When I 
come to speak of the manner of preserving the blossoms and young 
fruit of wall trees from the effects of frost and other severe 
weather, I shall have something more to say about the construction 
of a particular part of the wall : at present it will be sufficient to 
add that it ought to be made of good, solid, smoothly-finished 
and well-burned bricks ; that the mortar ought to be of the best ; 
that the jomts ought to be uniform in size and well filled with 
mortar : and that the wall ought to be erected not later than the 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



19 



month of June, in order for it to become thoroughly dry in every 
part before the arrival of frost. In making the foundation, great 
care must be taken t6 go lower down than the depth of the trench- 
ing, in order to come at the solid and immoveable earth. 

31. As was observed before, the use of one half of this wall, for 
horticultural purposes, would be lost, unless wall-trees could be 
placed on both sides of it ; and wall-trees cannot be placed on the 
outside, with any chance of utility, unless there be an effectual 
fence to protect the trees on that wall. I knew an old gentleman, 
one of whose garden walls separated the garden from a meadow, 
which was unprotected except by a common hedge. Those per- 
sons of the village who were fond of wall-fruit, who had none of 
their own, and who were young enough to climb wails, used to 
leave him a very undue proportion of his fruit, and that not of the 
best quality. He therefore separated a strip of the meadow from 
the rest by a little fence, very convenient for getting over ; turned 
this strip, which lay along against the wall, into kitchen garden- 
ground, planted excellent fruit-trees against the wall, trained them 
and cultivated them properly ; and thus, by furnishing his juvenile 
neighbours with onions for their bread and cheese, as well as fruit 
for their dessert, ever aiter he kept the produce of the inside of 
the garden for himself, generally observing (as he once particu- 
larly did to me) that he was not so unreasonable as to expect to 
have any of the produce of the exterior garden. 

32. But there is no necessity for making these sorts of diver- 
sions, if you can, with the greatest ease imaginable, elFectually 
protect the fortress against every species of attack. This pro- 
tection is to be obtained by a hedge made of hawthorn, black thorn, 
or, still better, with honey locust, the thorns of the latter beiog just 
so many needles of about an inch and a half, or two inches long, 
only stouter than a needle and less brittle. The space between the 
wall and the hedge ought to be a clear rod, allowing, besides, three 
feet for the hedge. This hedge ought to be planted in the following 
manner. The p^ants being first sown in beds, and then put into 
a nursery, ought to be taken thence when their stems are about 
the thickness of the point of your fore-finger. They ought to be 
as equal as possible in point of size ; because, if one be weaker 
than the rest, they subdue it ; there comes a low place in the 
hedge ; that low place becomes a gap ; and a hedge with a gap in 
It is, in fact, no fence at all, any more than a wall with an open 

c 2 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



door in it is a protection to a house. Having got the plants ready ; 
or, rather, befo're they be taken up out of the ground, you prepare 
the place to receive them. You- make a ditch six feet wide, at the 
top, and two and a half wide at the bottom. I suppose the ground 
to be trenched to the width of eighteen feet from the wall. You 
take all the good earth from the top of the place that is to be the 
ditch, and lay it upon the trenched ground to the extent of two 
feet wide, which will make a very good and deep bed of earth for 
the plants which are to form the hedge to grow in. Then the 
ditch ought to be dug out to the depth of three feet, and shovelled 
out very clean and smooth at the bottom. This bottom earth of 
the ditch must be carried away ; for it would not do to throw it 
up into the border. If it be convenient, the slope of the bank 
ought to be covered with turf, well beaten on, and in the autumn ; 
because, if put on in the spring, the grass would be likely to die. 
If not convenient to get turf, this slope ought to be thickly sown 
with grass-seeds from a hay-loft ; and, in both cases, this slope of 
the bank ought to be hung very regularly with dead bushes, fast- 
ened to the bank by little pegs. This bank and ditch alone, if 
the bushes were well hung and fastened on, would be no bad 
protection : few boys or young fellows would venture, particularly 
by night, to take a jump over a ditch of six feet, with about two 
feet of elevation on the bank ; but the hedge, in addition to this 
ditch and bank, renders the storming literally impossible, except 
with the assistance of facines and scaling ladders, which are muni- 
tions that the besiegers of gardens are very seldom provided with. 
To return now to the planting of the hedge : I entirely disap- 
prove of great numbers of plants employed for this purpose. If 
the plants stand too close to each other, they never can be strong ; 
they never get stout stems : the hedge is weak at bottom ; and 
the hedge can never be what it would be if fewer and stronger 
plants were put in. The time of planting is any where between 
September and April. The plants, when taken up, should have 
all their fibres taken from their roots with a short knife, and their 
main roots shortened to the length of about six inches ; then they 
should be planted with great caie, the earth put in very finely 
about the roots, and every plant fastened well in the ground by 
the foot. The eaith should be then made smooth after the tread- 
ing, and the plants immediateiy cut down to within a foot of the 
ground. The distance that the plants should stand from each other 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



21 



ought to be about fifteen inches, and the row of plants ought to 
stand at about a foot from the edge of the bank. The plants 
should be kept perfectly clear from weeds all 'the summer, which 
is very easily effected by two or three hoeings. If plants be 
plentiful, and you desire to have an extraordinary thick hedge, 
put in two rows of plants, one row eighteen inches from the other, 
and the plants of one row placed opposite the middle of the intervals 
in the other row. The plants will make long and strong shoots 
the first summer. The next spring cut them down to within an 
inch of the ground. Go over them in June when they will have 
made considerable shoots, and cut oiF all the shoots close to the 
stem, except the two strongest of each plant. Let them go on 
through another year, and these two shoots will then be about five 
feet high. Then, in winter, take one of the shoots of each plant, 
and plash it close to the bottom ; that is to say, bend it down 
longwise the hedge, and give it a cut on the upper side about two 
inches from the stem ; cut off the top of it so as to leave the re- 
mainder a foot long ; bend it down to the ground, making it lie as 
close as possible to the stems of the neighbouring plant, and fasten 
it to the ground with two pegs. When you have done this all the 
way along, there will be one plash for every interval between the 
stems of the plants. When this is done, cut down the upright 
shoots, which you have not plashed down, to within four inches of 
the bottom ; cr rather, to within an inch or so of that part of the 
stem out of which the plashed shoot issues. The next October, 
that is to say, at the end of the fourth summer, you will have a 
complete, efficient, and beautiful fence. This fence will want 
topping and clipping, in order to keep it of uniform height, and 
smooth on the sides. You may let it go to what height you 
please ; but, in order to have a hedge thick at the bottom, you 
must trim the hedge in such a way as for the outsides of the bottom 
of it not to be dripped by the upper parts of the hedge. This is a 
very important matter ; for, if the bottom of the hedge be hol- 
low, holes are easily made in it, and it soon becomes no fence 
at all. 

33. If the hedge be made of honey locusts, two rows of plants 
are better than one, the distances being the same as before-men- 
tioned. These do not do so well for plashing as the hawthorn or 
black thorn ; but they send out numerous side-shoots, and these 
very strong. These locusts should not be cut down till the end of 



22 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



the autumn after planting ; or they may be cut down the next 
spring, and close to the ground. Each will then send up three or 
four stout shoots. ' When these have grown through the summer, 
take out any little weak shcots, close to the stem, and cut dow n 
the stout ones w ithin three or four inches of the ground. Out of 
these stems will come such quantities of shoots that the fence will 
be complete in a very short time, and will only want trimming and 
clipping. The w hole of the space between the tw^o row^s w ill be 
filled up by the side shoots ; and the hedge w^ill be quite impassable 
by any animal bigger, at any rate, than a rat or a cat ; and, besides 
all the rest, the foliage is so very fine that even, as an ornament, 
it W'Ould "be desirable to have it as a hedge. 

34. With regard to the height of this hedge, it might be six or 
seven feet ; but not higher ; for, if too high, it would keep the sun 
from part of the wall on the south side of the garden. If higher, 
it w ould give more shelter, indeed ; but then this benefit would 
be over-balanced by the injury done in the way of shade. By the 
means of a hedge of» this sort, you not only secure the use of the 
outsides of your walls ; but you obtain security for the produce 
of the inside. For gardeners may scold as long and as vehe- 
mently as they please, and law-makers may enact as long as they 
please, mankind wdll never look upon taking fruit in an orchard, 
or a garden, as felony, nor even as a serious trespass. Besides, 
there are such things as hoys, and eveiy considerate man W'ill recol- 
lect that he himself was once a boy. So that, if you have a mind 
to have for your own exclusive use what you grow in your garden, 
you must do one of tw^o things ; resort to terrors and punishments, 
that will make you detested by your neighbours, or provide an 
insurmountable fence. This prevents temptation, in all cases dan- 
gerous, and particularly in that of forbidden fruit. Resolve, 
therefore, to share the produce of your garden with the boys of 
the w hole "neighbourhood ; or, to keep it for your owti use by a 
fence that they cannot get through, over, or under. Six feet is no 
great heiglit ; but in the way of fence, four feet of good thorn- 
hedge will keep the boldest boy from trees loaded with fine ripe 
peaches ; and, if it will do that, nothing further need be said in its 
praise ! The height is nothing ; but, unless the assailant have 
w ings, he must be content wdth feasting his eyes ; for, if he attempt 
to climb, he receives the penalty upon the spot ; and if he retreats, . 
as the fox did from the grapes, he gets pain of body in addition 



11.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



23 



to that of a disappointed longing. I really (recollecting former 
times) feel some remorse in thus plotting against the poor fellows ; 
but the worst of it is, they will not be content with fair play : they 
will have the earliest in the season, and the hest, as long as the 
season lasts : and, therefore, I must, however reluctantly, shut 
them out altogether. 

So. By the time that the wall- trees begin to produce any thing 
of a crop, the hedge will become an effectual fence : the latter 
will go on providing protection as the trees go on in making 
prodsion for fruit. The ditch and the bank should be attended 
to during this time. If the earth moulder down, it should be put 
up again : any holes or washings that appear in the bank should 
be regularly stopped, and the earth carefully replaced every au- 
tumn : the prunings and clippings should be regularly and carefully 
performed, once every winter, and once every summer, about the 
middle of the month of July. This summer clipping must be 
earlier or later, according to the season, or to the climate : but it 
should take place just before the starting of the 2tlidsummer shoot. 
All trees shoot twice in the year : the shoot that comes out in 
the spring ends about [Midsummer, and then begins another shoot 
that comes out of the end of it ; which is about one-third and 
sometimes about one-half, smaller than the spring shoot, and the 
pruning or clipping should take place just before this new shoot 
comes out : this operation causes many new and small shoots to 
come forth, and gives the hedge a very beautiful appearance ; and 
also makes it much thicker than it otherwise would be. The 
seed of the black thorn is a little sloe, and not easily to be ob- 
tained in any quantity : its leaf is not so beautiful as that of the 
hawthorn ; but its wood stronger, and its thorns a great deal more 
formidable. A holly hedge only requires more patience ; and we 
should recollect that it is evergreen : and as effectual, in a fence, 
as either of our thorns ; for its leaves are so full of sharp prickles 
that no boy M ill face a holly hedge of any degree of thickness. To 
have such a hedge, you must gather the berries in autumn, keep 
them in damp sand for a year ; then sow them in November, and, 
when they come up in the spring, keep the bed carefully weeded, 
not only then, but all through the summer ; let them stand in this 
bed another summer ; then transplant them in rows in a nurseiy 
of rich ground ; there let them stand for two or three years ; then 
plant them for the hedge at the same distances, and in the same 



24 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



manner, as directed for the honey locusts ; then, when they have 
stood a year thus, cut them down nearly close to the ground, which 
will bring three or four shoots out of each plant ; and, with a little 
topping and side-pruning, carefully perfonned, they will, in about 
five years after being planted, form a very beautiful and eifectual 
fence. Neither of the thorns is raised much more quickly ; and 
certainly there is no comparison for such a purpose between an 
evergreen and a deciduous tree. And, there is this further advan- 
tage, w ith regard to the holly, that it will flourish in any soil from 
the dryest and most arid bank, to the wettest and sourest clay ; 
and as to duration, as a plant, nothing but the yew-tree equals 
the holly. 



LAYING-OUT. 

35. Having now given instructions relative to the Situation, the 
Soil, Form, and Extent, and the Enclosing of the garden, there re- 
mains to speak, in this Chapter, only of the laying of it out into 
plats, borders, paths, and walks. A judicious distribution of the 
ground is a great matter ; for, if any part of it be awkward to get 
at, great additional labour is occasioned ; and if there be not the 
proper quantity of paths and walks, there must be great tramp- 
ling of the ground, and very great inconveniences of various sorts. 
The outer garden, tliat is to say, the garden between the hedge and 
the wall, will not require much attention in the making of paths : 
the whole of it will be land pretty constantly under cultivation, to 
within about four or five feet of the wall ; and a path there, that 
is to say, at that distance from the wall, trodden out upon the 

. • common ground, and just sufficient to pass along for the purpose 
of managing the trees w'hich are against the wall, wiil be sufficient. 

36. But, with regard to the garden itself, where the width is 
considerable, great care mu5t be taken that every part of the ground 
can be come at without inconvenience ; that there be borders suf- 
ficiently wide for the roots of the wall-trees to extend themselves 
in ; and that the several plats of ground be easily come at for the 
purpose of manuring, and for all other purposes. I subjoin a plan, 
w hich I deem the most proper for a garden of the extent that I 
have recommended. I shall first give the plan on the opposite 
page ; and, when I have subjoined the explanations of this plan, I 
shall proceed to make some remarks on it. 



To tcu^ pariiaraph 36. 




„.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 25 



EXPLANATIONS OF THE PLAN. 



1. The whole length, from outside to outside, from East to West, is 247i feet, or 
15 rods. 

2. The whole width, from North to South, is 165 feet, or 10 rods. 

3. The outside line represents the place for the hedge. 

4. The double line represents the place for the wall. 

5. The walks are described by dotting, and all, except the middle walk, are four 
feet wide. 

6. The walk which goes all along the garden from East to West is six feet wide. 

7. a a door-way through the hedge, 3 feet wide. 

8. b a door- way in the wall, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet from the corner of the wall. 

9. c,c, c, c, is the outer garden, a clear rod wide, between the wall and the hedge. 

10. d is the Hot-bed ground, 58i feet from East to West, and 63 feet from Nortli 
to South. 

11. e e e is a border, 10 feet wide, under the inside of the wall. 

12. / is a plat of ground, 50^ feet from East to W est, and 49 feet from North to 
South. 

13. g, A, i, k, are plats of ground, each of which has 67 feet from East to West, and 
49 feet from North to South. 

14. w is a door-way in the wall, 3 feet wide, and 4 feet from the corner of the 
wall. 

15. w is a border, 4 feet under the inside of the West wall. 

16. j5 is a door-way in the Western hedge of the Hot-bed-ground. 

17. 5" is a door- way in the Southern hedge of the Hot-bed-ground. 

18. r the tool-house. 

19. The letter N points out the North side of the garden ; the letter E the East 
side, and the other letters the South and the West sides. 

38. It will be seen that I make but one entrance into the gar- 
den, as at a ; because this entrance, which is a door- way in a hedge, 
is a somewhat difficult affair : hedges cannot be joined to wood 
work, as brick work can. There must be posts and a door-frame : 
and, if great pains be not' taken, there will soon be a gap where 
these join the hedge. This will be the weak part of the fortifi- 
cation. There must be a bridge over the ditch ; and that which 
serves the garrison equally serves the besieger ; therefore, this 
door ought to be well guarded on the top and on the sides by stout 
pieces of wood projecting in every direction from the top and sides 
of the door, and well guarded with tenter-hooks. Prevention is bet- 
ter than cure : lead us not into temptation" is the most sensible 
of all possible prayers : you inflict no hardship by removing 
temptation ; but you inflict great hardship in the pursuit of com- 
pensation or punishment : let the whole neighbourhood be con- 
vinced that forcible entry into the garden is not to be accomplished 
without infinite difficulty : and that is a great deal better than all 
the steel-traps, spring-guns, and penal laws in the world. It is 
better to have sentry-boxes and sentinels in them than to resort to 



26 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



the steel-trap and spring-gim system ; and, for my own part, mor- 
tified as I should be at spoliations committed in the garden, I 
would submit to them, and even to the destruction of the garden 
itself, rather than disgrace my premises by such terrific threats. 

39. The door- way at a lets you into a short path to another 
door- way in the wall at h. Through these door- ways the materials 
naturally go for the making of hot-beds ; and, therefore, the hot- 
bed ground, d, is the first part of the walled garden into which 
you enter. I will, before I go further, give a particular description 
of this hot-bed ground, w^hich is by no means an unimportant part 
of the concern. It is fifty-eight feet and a half from east to west, 
and sixty-three feet from north to south. A door goes out of it 
at another door at These door- ways lead to the several parts 
of the garden, and are convenient outlets for all purposes whatso- 
ever. There is, you will perceive, the wall on the north side of this 
hot-bed ground, and the wall on the west side. The other t^vo 
sides should be bounded by a hedge ; and that edge should be of 
yew. The fences to hot bed grounds are frequently made of reed, 
^vhich are very good for the purpose of shelter ; but which are dead- 
looking things at the best. The fences to such places are some- 
times made of hornbeam ; but this sort of hedge loses its leaves in 
the winter, and is of little use precisely at the season when it is 
most wanted. The yew is evergreen. It is by no means difficult 
to make grow ; it does not grow^ slowly ; it is clipped into any 
form that you please ; regularly clipped, it remains in the same 
form for ever ; it is as close at the bottom as in the middle of its 
height ; it has all the regularity of a wall itself ; and, in such a 
case, it is a great deal better than a wall, because it occasions no 
recoiling or reverberation of the wind. The height of the hedge 
should not much exceed six feet, for then it would shade part of 
the beds ; and it is hardly necessary to say that it should be kept 
regularly clipped twice in the year, in the same manner as is di- 
rected for the hawthorn hedge. There should not only be door- 
ways atp and but doors also ; otherwdse the wind w^ould sweep 
in, and, in part, defeat the object of the hedge. Hardly any family 
can want a greater space than this for the raising of things for 
wdiich hot-beds are necessary ; and, if the space were found to be 
larger than was wanted, this w ould be a very good place for the de- 
positing of a heap of compost or any other thing which is unsightly, 
and which, if not somewhat hidden, would disfigure the garden. 



11.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



27 



40. The borders e are, as has been seen in the explanations, ten 
feet wide ; and the earth in them ought to have a little declivity 
from the wall : it may be very trifling, but it ought to be a little. 
As to the plats f, g, h, k, they are for the growth of garden- 
plants, in general ; and the parts of them best suited for different 
plants, at different seasons of the year, will be spoken of under the 
heads of the particular plants. The paths and walks ought to be of 
gravel, if possible ; for, whatever expense this may be attended 
with in certain cases, there are hardly any other means of having 
dry paths and walks in winter. Grasg is very bad, for it must not 
only be walked upon, bnt frequently wheeled uponwih barrows 
heavily laden, and especially in winter-time ; and this soon makes 
them a mass of dirt and of ugliness. But, you cannot have gravel- 
walks or paths, to be kept in any thing like order, unless you make 
theni well in the first place, and protect them against the falling 
down of earth upon them for ever afterwards. Therefore, when you 
have laid out the garden by lines and stumps, the place or places 
for the walks and paths should be dug out to the depth of all the 
top-soil, which ought to be thrown over the adjoining ground on 
both sides, and made perfectly level at the bottom. Then there 
should be a bed of brick-bats, or of large flint, or of other stones ; 
and upon the top of that bed, about six inches of clean gravel. 

4 1 . The next thing is to make efficient provision for preventing 
the earth from the borders and plats, which ought to be about four 
inches higher than the tops of the walks, from tumbling into the 
walks when digging, hoeing, and other operations take place ; but 
especially digging ; for it is impossible to dig the ground close to 
a walk which has not a sufficient protection, without bringing dirt 
upon the walk : all the shovelling in the world will not get it off* 
again clean, unless you go down so deep as to take up part of the 
gravel with the dirt ; so that your walk must soon become a dirty- 
looking affair, in which weeds and grass will be everlastingly com- 
ing : or you must take away, little by little, the gravel, by shovelling, 
till you have flung it pretty nearly all upon the borders and flats^ 
and thereby not only destroyed your walk, but injured your culti- 
vated land. To prevent these very great troubles and injuries, you 
must resolve to have an efficient protection for the walk ,* and this, I 
venture to assert, is to be obtained by no other means than by the 
use of BOX. Many contrivances have been resorted to for the 
purpose of avoiding this pretty little tree, which, like all other 



28 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



really valuable things, require? some little time, some little pa- 
tience, and great attention, after you have got it. In the end, in- 
deed, it is a great deal cheaper than any thing else ; but it requires 
some attention and patience at first, and regular clipping every year 
twice. I have seen, and have had, as an edging (which ramparts of 
this sort are called), a little flowering plant called thrift : I have 
seen strawberries thickly planted for this purpose : I have seen 
daisies, and various other things, made use of as edgings : but ail 
these herbaceous things ramble very quickly over the ground ; 
extend their creepers ovej the walk, as well as over the ad- 
joining ground ; and, instead of being content to occupy the space 
of three inches wide, to which it is vainly hoped their moderation 
will confine them, they encroach to the extent of a foot the 
first summer ; and, if left alone for only a couple of years, they 
will cover the whole of a walk six feet wide, harbouring all sorts 
of reptiles, making the walk pretty nearly as dirty as if it did 
not consist of gravel. I have sometimes seen narrow edgings of 
grass, which, perhaps, are the worst of all. Make such an edging, 
of four inches w'ide, in the autumn, and it will be sixteen inches 
wide before the next autumn, unless you pare down the edges of 
it three or four times. Thus must be done by a line ; and even 
then, some dirt must be cut from the edging, to come into the 
Avalk : this is, in fact, a rampart of dirt itself. It must be mowed 
not less than ten times during the summer, or it is ugly beyond 
description ; besides bringing you an abundant crop of seeds to be 
scattered over the walk, and over the adjoining ground. Of all 
edgings, therefore, this is the least efficient for the purpose, and 
by far the most expensive. 

42. The box is at once the most efficient of all possible 
things, and the prettiest plant that can possibly be conceived ; 
the colour of its leaf ; the form of its leaf ; its docility as to 
height, width, and shape ; the compactness of its little branches ; 
its great durability as a plant ; its thriving in all sorts of soils, 
and in all sorts of aspects ; its freshness under the hottest sun, 
and its defiance of all shade and all drip : these are beauties and 
qualities which, for ages upon ages, have marked it out as the 
chosen plant for this very important purpose. 

43. The box, to all its other excellent qualities, adds that of 
facility of propagation. You take up the plants, when they are 
from three to six inches high, when they have great numbers of 



a.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



29 



shoots coming from the same stem ; you strip these shoots off, 
put them into the ground, to about the depth of two inches, or a 
little more ; fasten them well there, first with the hand, and then 
w'ith the foot ; clip them along at the top to within about two 
inches of the ground, and you have a box edging at once. You 
must, indeed, purchase the plants, if you have not taken care to 
raise them before-hand ; and, as to thrift, strawberries, daisies, 
or grass edgings, there are generally cart-loads of them to be 
thrown away, or to be dug from a common. I should suppose, 
however, that ten pounds' worth of box, bought at the nurseries, 
would be sufficient for the whole garden ; and, then, with com- 
mon care, you have neat and efficient edgings for a life-time. 

44. To plant the box some care must be taken. The edging 
ought to be p-anted as soon as the gravel walks are formed. The 
box ought to be planted perpendicularly, and in a very straight 
line, close to the gravel ; and with no earth at all betw^een it and 
the gravel. It ought to stand, when planted and cut off, about 
four inches high ; and the earth in the borders or plats ought to 
be pushed back a little, and kept back for the first year, to pre ^ 
vent it from being washed back over the walks. Vv'hen the edging 
arrive at its proper height, it will stand about seven inches high, 
on the gravel side, and will be about three inches higher than the 
earth in the border, and will act like a little wall to keep the 
earth out of the walks ; which, to say nothing of the difference 
in the look, it will do, as effectually as brick, or boards, or any 
thing else, however solid. The edging ought to be clipped in 
the winter, or very early in the spring, on both the sides and at 
top ; a line ought to be used to regulate the movements of the 
sheers ; it ought to be clipped again, in the same manner, just 
about Midsummer ; and, if there be a more neat and beautiful 
thing than this in the world, all that I can say is that I never saw 
that thing. 

45. There is yet one thing to notice in this laying out of the 
garden ; namely, that there must be a shed to seiTe as a place for 
depositing tools, flower-pots, and the like ; and also, for the gar- 
deners to retire to in case of rain, and to do work there when 
they cannot do work out of doors. This is a very necessary part 
of the garden premises, and ought to be sufficiently spacious not 
only for the purposes just mentioned, but for the hanging up of 
seeds to dry, and for various other purposes. This shed ought 



30 



SITUATION, SOIL, 



[chap. 



to stand also as near to the hot-bed ground as convenient, and yet 
it is too dissightly to be in the inside of the garden. A shed about 
fortv feet long, and about seven feet wide, might suffice for this 
purpose ; and it might stand very conveniently, as at r, in the 
outer garden, on the east side of the entrance at a, the back of the 
buildins: beino- hiiih enough to allow the eaves of the roof to 
be six feet from the ground ; and the back being towards the 
hedge, and not to\-\ ards the ^ all. ■ As to water, I have not pointed 
out anv particular place in the garden for a well or other means 
of obtaining water. It ^vill be seen, by-aud-by, that I am of 
opinion that a great deal of time and labour bestowed upon 
^^aterinSj are, in general, so much time and labour thrown away, 
and effect injury instead of good. Xevertheless, there are many 
cases in which watering by hand is absolutely necessary : in hot- 
beds, for instance : in the case of plants in pots : in the case of 
things v. hich can be shaded during the day ; in the case of cauli- 
flowers, which grow so much larger and finer when dishes are made 
round them and plenty of water given. Therefore, there must be 
water used in a garden of this extent : and to bring it from any 
considerable distance would be a thing extremely inconvenient and 
attended with great expense. If running water can be brought 
through a part of the garden, that is the desirable thing: and, 
when we see the great number of situations where this might be 
done at a mere tritiing expense, we are astonished at the small 
number of instances in ^\ hich it has ever been attempted. There 
is scarcely an instance, where we find a mansion-house of any 
considerable size, where a river, a brook, or a spring, might not 
be made to furnish a run of vrater for the garden. Above 
ground, or under ground, until it came to the wall, where an 
arch and a grating might be made to let it in, a channel to con- 
duct it across, and another arch and grating to let it out again. 
Running water, besides the prettiness of it, would give banks or 
edges for the growth of several things which delight m it : straw- 
berries, raspberries, quince-trees, and almost every sort of tree. 
But, supposing it to be impossible to have the vrater in this ^vay, 
the usual resource of a well must be resorted to. From this well, 
the water would be raised by a pump pouring the water into a 
large cistern, made of brick and well cemented, the v.alls rising 
about two feet above the ground, which cistei-n should be kept 
always pretty- nearly full, in order for the water to get softened 



II.] 



ENCLOSING, LAYING OUT. 



31 



by the air, and to be more fit for the uses of the garden. There 
will be plenty of room for this pump and cistern in the hot-bed 
ground, at the south-east corner ; and, from this spot, it could 
be carried or wheeled to all parts of the garden. No great pains 
need be taken with regard to the making of the cistern, so that 
it were well cemented ; the brick-work should be nine inches 
thick, and the form should be circular, otherwise the sides might 
fall in. 

46. In conclusion of "these instructions as to the laying-out of 
the garden, I ought to observe that the narrow border at which 
is four feet wide between the wall and the path, is necessary because 
the path is to be at four feet distance from the wall, in order that 
the door-way in the wall on the south side may not be close to the 
corner, which would lessen the strength of the wall. In the work 
of laying-out, great care ought to be taken with regard to straight- 
ness and distances, and particularly as to the squareness of every 
part. To make lines perpendicular, and perfectly so, is, indeed, no 
difficult matter, when one knows how to do it ; but one must know 
how to do it before one can do it at all. If the gardener understand 
this much of geometry, he will do it without any difficulty ; but, if 
he only pretend to understand the matter, and begin to walk back- 
ward and forward, stretching out lines and cocking his eye, make no 
bones with him ; send for a bricklayer, and see the stumps driven 
into the ground yourself. The four outside lines being laid down 
with perfect truth, it must be a bungling fellow, indeed, that cannot 
do the rest ; but if they be only a little asliew, you have a botch in 
your eye.for the rest of your life, and a botch of your o wn making 
too. Gardeners seldom want for confidence in their own abilities ; 
and, in many cases, it requires time and some experience of their 
doings to ascertain whether they know their business or do not ; 
especially when in pretensions they are so bold, and the result is at 
a considerable distance, and clouded with so many intervening cir* 
cumstances ; but this affair of raising perpendiculars upon a given 
line, is a thing settled in a moment : you have nothing to do but to 
say to the gardener, Come, let us see how you do it.'^ He has 
but one way in which he can do it ; and, if he do not immediately 
begin to work in that way, pack him off to get a bricklayer, even a 
botch in which trade will perform the work to the truth of a hair. 



32 



HOT-BEDS. 



[chap. 



CHAPTER III. 

On the making and managing of Hot-beds and Green-houses, 

47. I OBSERVED before that it did not accord with my plan to 
treat of Hot-houses, which, as I then observed, was a branch wholly 
distinct from gardening in general, and applicable to the circum- 
stances of comparatively very few persons ; and that, therefore, to 
enter on such a treatise would be of little use to the public in ge- 
neral, while it would injuriously augment the bulk of my work. 
Hot-beds are, however, of a different character : they maybe made 
an amusement, and are even things of real utility, to a very con- 
siderable number of persons : to all, in short, who have gardens, 
and who have the stable-dung of two or three horses, or even one 
horse, at their command, or who can procure such materials (as is 
the case in the neighbourhood of great towns) at a reasonable rate. 
A green-house, upon a small scale, or adapted to the particular 
CH'cumstances of the proprietor, is within the reach of a very con- 
siderable part of the community ; and, therefore, without, how- 
ever, considering it as an essential object, or one worthy of very 
great attention, I shall give my opinions upon that species of gar- 
dening also. 

48. Hot-beds are used either for raising such things as are not 
to be raised during the winter or the spring without such assist- 
ance, or for the raising of such things as are not to be had at all in 
our climate, without artificial heat of some kind. Before we 
speak of the form and dimensions of a hot-bed, it will be best, per- 
haps, to describe the frame which is to go upon it ; because the 
reasons for the directions for the making of the bed will then 
the more manifestly appear. A frame consists of four pieces of 
wood ; and, let us suppose it to be twelve feet long, and four feet 
wide. Frames are sometimes of greater and sometimes of less dimen- 
sions ; but, for the sake of illustration, let us take a frame of this 
size. There must be one board or two boards joined together, to 
make the back, twelve feet in length, and eighteen inches wide ; 
one board to make the front, twelve feet in length and nine inches 
wide. One board at each end to be joined on to the ends of the 
front and the back; eighteen inches at the back, and nine inches 



lU.] 



AND GREEN-HOUSES. 



33 



at the front. These boards being well dove-tailed together at 
the four corners, and being about two inches thick, form the frame. 
Upon this fiame, glaze : sashes are put, which are called ligJitSf 
and which rest upon the back and front and ends of the frame, and 
also upon bars put across and fastened into the sides of the frame, 
in such a way as to form resting-places for the sides of the lights. 
This is quite enough of description ; because the carpenters know 
how to make these things ; and all that I have to do in this place 
is so to designate them that the reader may know what I am 
talking about. 

49. Having the intention to make a hot-bed, you must first see 
that you have a sufficiency of materials. You take the stable dung, 
carry it into the hot-bed ground (letter d in the plan of the gar- 
den), and there put it into a conical heap. If you have not enough 
of dung from the stable-door, some from cow^-stalls, sheep-yards, 
and even long stuff from pig-beds or pig-styes, half-stained litter ; 
or anything of a grassy kind, and not entirely dry, will lend you 
assistance ; but, let it be understood that the best of all possible 
materials for the making of hot-beds is dung from the stable of 
corn-fed horses ; and the next best comes from a sheep-yard, or 
from stalls w here ewes and sucking lambs have been kept. Wheat- 
straw^ is by far the best straw to have been used as litter, w'hen the 
duns: is wanted for hot-beds. Bearino- in mind that this is the 
best sort of materials, you must take what you have ; and, if it be 
of an inferior quality, there must, at any rate, be a greater quan- 
tity of it. Having collected your materials together in the hot-bed 
ground, you next shake them up well together into a heap, in a 
fiattish conical form. It is not sufficient merely to put the dung 
up together in this form : it must be taken a prongful at a time, 
and shaken entirely straw from straw , and mixed, long with short, 
duly and truly through every part of the heap, from the bottom 
to the top. When thus shaken up, the short stuff on the ground, 
where the dung was tossed down out of the wheelbarrow, ought 
to be shovelled up very clean, and flung over the heap. If the 
dung be good, you will see it begin to smoke the next day. It 
should lie only two days and a half, or three days, before it be 
moved again. It should now be turned over very truly, well sha- 
ken to pieces again, and another conical heap formed of it, care 
being taken to put the outsides of the first heap towards the inside 
of the second heap. In two or three days more, it \\\\\ have 

D 



34 



HOT-BEDS 



[chap. 



heated again sufficiently ; and then it should be turned once more, 
especially if there be a great proportion of long litter in it. If the 
dung be very dry, and the weather be dry also, and especially if 
it have a large portion of long littery stuff in it, it should be 
watered with a watering-pot, when it is first mixed up, a watering 
being given all over the heap at every foot of height that the heap 
rises to. This is necessary to cause that fermentation without 
which there cannot be a hot-bed ; but, generally speaking, this is 
not necessary, for dung is seldom flung out with so large a por- 
tion of clean straw as to prevent it from heating when thrown up 
in a heap. 

50. It is as well to consider it to be a general rule, scarcely 
ever to be departed from, that the dung should ferment three seve- 
ral times during the space of nine days, before it be put into a hot- 
bed. Unless this be the case, the heat of the bed (unless the dung 
be very short at the beginning) will not be lasting, and will never 
be regular ; nor will the bed be solid and uniform. It will sink 
more in some places than in others, and will be hotter in some 
places than in others ; therefore, it is useless to be impatient, since 
the thing cannot be done well without this previous preparation. 

5 1 . The dung being duly prepared, you make the bed in the fol- 
lowing manner, having first made the ground on which it is to 
stand perfectly level. If the general surface of the ground round 
about be on the slope, you must take care so to change the situa- 
tion of that part of the ground on which the bed is to stand as to 
make that part perfectly level. It is not sufficient that you have 
the top of the bed level. The bottom must be level also, or else 
the sinking on one side, or at one end, will be greater than on the 
other side, or at the other end ; the frame will stand unevenly ; the 
slope of the lights will be too steep, or not steep enough ; the bed 
will sometimes crack ; the water will run off and not sink into the 
earth ; and, in short, without a perfect level whereon to place the 
bed, the inconveniences are endless. 

52. Having got the level spot, you are to make a bed as nearly 
as possible of the dimensions of the frame ; and the best pos- 
sible way is to take the frame itself, put it upon the ground 
where you intend the bed shall stand, put up a straight piece 
of wood on the outside of each corner of the frame, while it is 
standing upon the ground ; then take the frame away ; then put 
a thin board edgeways upon the ground on the back, and on the 



ni.] 



AND GREEN-HOrSES. 



35 



front, and at the two ends, which board ought to come on the out- 
sides of the four stakes, and to be held up by four pegs. You have 
then a true guide for making the bottom of the bed ; and you be- 
gin by putting a little of the longest of the dung just at the bottom. 
Then you go on shaking the dung into this sort of box, dividing 
straw from straw, and mixing long and short duly together, in the 
same manner as was before directed in the case of the conical heaps, 
and taking care to keep beating the dung down with the prong in 
every part of the bed. When you have shaken on dung to the 
thickness of four or five inches, beat all over again, and so on 
at every four or five inches deep, until the work be finished. 
When you get to the top of the boards, you will proceed very well 
without any ; but you must be very careful to keep the outsides and 
ends perfectly upright ; for this purpose, great care must be taken 
that the stakes at the four corners of the bed be placed perpendicu- 
larly. Strain the line now-and-then from stake to stake, and that 
will be your guide. Particular care must be taken to keep the 
edges of the bed well-beaten as you proceed ; for, if you fail to 
do this they will sink more than the middle will sink, and then 
there ^vill be a crack in the earth in the middle of the bed. As 
you proceed, the perpendicular sides and ends ought to be well 
beaten also ; and, when the work is finished, it ought to be a 
building as smooth and as upright as a wall, being perfectly level 
at the top, and, of course, of uniform height in all its parts. 

bo. When the bed is completed, put on the frame immediately. 
If the foregoing instructions have been observed, the bed will be 
about an inch longer and an inch wider than the frame. It should 
not be more, on any account ; especially if it be intended to re- 
ceive those linings of which I shall have to speak hereafter. After 
putting on the frame, put on the lights ; and, as you will not push 
the lights down in order to give air, you will find that the heat of 
the bed will begin to rise in the course of t^velve hours, or there- 
abouts. As soon as the heat begins to rise, there should be some 
air given to the bed by pushing the lights, or some of them, down 
four or five inches from the back, or drawing them up four or five 
inches from the front ; for stench is not good whether before or 
after plants be put into the bed. In about three days, the bed 
will be in full heat. Some persons recommend to put a sharp- 
pointed stick down a foot, or a foot and a half, into the bed, to as- 
certain the degree of the heat. Your finger is a great deal better than 

D S 



56 



HOT-BEDS 



[chap. 



a stick : ^vhatever heat there is must discover itself at the top of the 
bed, and there it is that your finger, well poked down into the centre 
of the bed, will enable you to judge of this matter a great deal bet- 
ter than anything else. It is a very delicate matter : it is one of the 
things that demands the greatest possible attention ; for the heat 
of dung, though it wi'l not probably come to a blaze, in any case, 
as a hay-rick sometimes will, will burn as completely as fire ; 
and, if the earth be put on too soon, it will burn the earth into a 
sort of cinder, in which nothing will ever grow until that earth has 
been for some time exposed to .he atmosphere. You must therefore 
be very careful to ascertain that the burning powers of the bed are 
passed, before you put on the earth. The rule for arriving at a 
certainty of this knowledge is this : the next morning after you 
have made the bed, poke your fore-finger well down into the 
centre of the top of it ; and continue to do the same every morn- 
ing and every evening, or more frequently, ^ou will find the heat 
increase, till (if the bed be a strong one) the heat be too great for 
you to endure your finger in it for a moment : soon after this, you 
will find the heat begin to decline ; and, as soon as you can bear 
your finger in it without any inconvenience, you may put on the 
earth all over the bed to about six inches' depth, which earth ought 
not to be as dry as dust ; but ought, at the same time, not to 
be wet. 

54. Thus is the bed ready for the receiving of seeds or plants : 
thus is the hot-bed made : these are the general instructions for 
the makiiig of hot-beds, which are to be of different heights, of 
different strength, and managed subsequently in a different man- 
ner, according with the nature of the different plants to be culti- 
vated in them, and according to the season of the year, when the 
sowing, planting, and cultivation, are to take place. Cucumbers 
and melons are, in England, the principal things for the rearing of 
which hot-beds are usually made : there are, however, several other 
things which are forced forward by the means of hot-beds ; and, in 
the treating of cucumbers and melons, and of those other sorts of 
garden plants which are raised in hot-beds, I shal!, under the 
names of these several plants, in the alphabetical list, give direction 
for the management of the hot-beds in which they are placed. A 
hot-bed for the purpose of getting early radishes is a very difierent 
thing from a hot-bed adapted for the raising of melons and cucum- 
bers ; and, therefore, no general direction for the management of 



m.] 



AND GREEN-HOUSES. 



37 



the beds can be complete : the heat which is absolutely necessary 
to bring cucumbers to perfection would totally destroy radish 
plants, or, at least, prevent them from ever producing a radish fit 
to be eaten ; but, as to the manner of making beds, it is the same 
in all cases ; and of that manner I think I have here given direc- 
tions sufficient for any person, even though he had never seen a 
hot-be. I in his life. I will just add that the quantity of mate- 
rials may be augmented by using a great plenty of straw as litter, 
instead of being sparing of straw ; and that, if you have the 
making of hot-beds in your eye, it is good, during the fall and the 
early part of the winter, while the materials are creating, to let 
the duns: from the stable be flunor rather w idely about : and not 
into heaps, in which it woidd heat, and exhaust itself beforehand. 

55. As to the making of green-houses, I shall think of nothing 
more than a place to preserve tender plants from the frost in the 
w inter, and to have hardy flowers during a season of the year when 
there are no flowers abroad. It is necessary, in order to make a 
green-house an agreeable thing, that it should be very near to the 
dwelling-house. It is intended for the pleasure, for the rational 
amusement and occupation, of persons who would otherwise be 
employed in things irrational ; if not in things mischievous. To 
have it at a distance from the house would be to render it nearly 
useless ; for, to take a pretty long tramp in the dirt, or wet, or 
snow, to get at a sight of the plants, would be, nine times out of 
ten, not performed ; and the pain would, in most instances, ex- 
ceed the pleasure. A green-house should, therefore, be erected 
against the dwelling-house. The south side of the house would 
be the best for the green-house : but any aspect to the south of 
due east and due west may do tolerably well ; and a door into it, 
and a window, or windows looking into it, from any room of the 
house in which people frequently sit, makes the thing extremely 
beautiful and agreeable. It must be glass on the top, at the end 
most distant from the house, and in the front from about three 
feet high. There should be an outer door for the ingress and 
egress of the gardener, and a little flue running round for the pur- 
pose of obtaining heat sufficient for keeping a heat to between 
forty and fift}' degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. Stages, 
shelves, and other things necessary for arranging the plants upon, 
would be erected according to the taste of the owner, and the 
purposes in view. Besides the plants usually kept in green-house?, 



38 



HOT-BEDS 



[chap. 



such as geraniums, heaths, and the Hke, I should choose to have 
bulbous-rooted plants of various sorts, even the most common, not 
excluding snow-drops and crocuses. Primroses and violets (the 
common single sorts, for the others have no smell), cowslips and 
daisies ; some dwarf roses ; and thus a very beautiful tlower- 
garden would be to be seen in the month of February, or still 
more early. Green-house plants are always set out of doors in the 
summer, when they are generally very much eclipsed in beauty by 
plants of a hardy and more vigorous description. If there be no 
green-house, these plants are taken into the house, shut up in a 
small space, very frequently in the shade, and always from strong 
light, especially early in the morning ; which greatly injures, and, 
sometimes, totally destroys, them ; besides, they really give no 
pleasure, except in winter ; for, as was observed before, after the 
month of May comes, they are far surpassed in beauty by the 
shrubberies and the parterre. 

56. Nor is such a place without its real use, for few persons 
will deny that fruit is of use ; none will deny that fine grapes are 
amongst the best of fruit ; we all know that these are not to be 
had in England, in the general run of years, without the assistance 
of glass ; and the green-house, in which the shade of the grapes 
would do no injury to the plants, because these would be out in 
the open air, except at the time when there would be little of leaf 
upon the vines, is as complete a thing for a grapery as if made for 
that sole purpose ; for, if the heat of from forty to fifty degrees 
would bring the vines to bear at a time, or, rather, to send out 
their leaves at a time inconvenient for the plants, you have nothing 
to do but to take the vine branches out of the house, and keep 
them there until such time that tbey might be put in again with- 
out their leaves producing an inconvenient shade over the plants, 
previous to the time of these latter being moved out into the 
open air. 

57. As the green-house would have given you a beautiful 
flower-garden and shrubbery during the winter, making the part 
of the house to which it is attached the pleasantest place in the 
world, so, in summer, what can be imagined more beautiful than 
bunches of grapes hanging down, surrounded by elegant leaves, 
and proceeding on each grape from the size of a pin's head to 
the size of a plum ? How the vines are to be planted, trained 
and pruned ; and how the fceveral plants suited to a green-house 



Hi.] AND GREEN-HOUSES. 59 

are to be propagated, reared and managed ; will be spoken of 
under the head' of Vines, and under those of the several plants 
and flowers ; but I cannot conclude this Chapter without ob- 
serving that it is the moral effects naturally attending a green- 
house that I set the most value upon. I will not, with Lord 
Bacon, praise pursuits like these, because God Almighty first 
planted a garden nor with Cowley, beca.use a Garden is 
like Heaven nor with Addison, because a Garden was the 
habitation of our first parents before their fall ; " all which is rather 
far-fetched, and puts one in mind of the dispute between the gar- 
deners and the tailors, as to the antiquity of their respective 
callings ] the former contending that the planting of the garden 
took place before the sewing of the fig-leaves together ; and the 
latter contending that there was no gardening at all till Adam 
was expelled, and compelled to work ; but, that the sewing was a 
real and bona fide act of tailoring. This, to be sure, is vulgar 
and grovelling work ; but who can blame such persons when 
they have Lord Bacon to furnish them with a precedent ! I like, 
a" great deal better, than these writers, Sir William Temple, 
who, while he was a man of the soundest judgment, employed 
in some of the greatest concerns of his country, so ardently and 
yet so rationally and unaffectedly praises the pursuits of gardening, 
in which he delighted from his youth to his old age ; and of his 
taste in which he gave such delightful proofs in those gardens 
and grounds at Moor Park in Surrey, beneath the turf of one 
spot of which he caused, by his will, his heart to be buried, and 
which spot, together with all the rest of the beautiful arrange- 
ment, has been torn about and disfigured within the last fifty 
years by a succession of wine-merchants, spirit-merchants, West 
Indians, and God knows what besides : I like a great deal bet- 
ter the sentiments of this really wise and excellent man ; but I 
look still further as to effects. There must be amusements in 
every family. Children observe and follow their parents in almost 
everything. How much better, during a long and dreary winter, 
for daughters, and even sons, to assist, or attend, their mother, in 
a green-house, than to be seated with her at cards, or in the 
bliibberings over a stupid novel, or at any other amusement 
that can possibly be conceived ! How much more innocent, more 
pleasant, more free from temptation to evil, this amusement, 
than any other ! How much more instructive, too ! Beivl the 



40 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



twig when young but, here, there needs no force ; nay, not 
even persuasion. The thing is so pleasant in itself ; it so natu- 
rally meets the w ishes ; that the taste is fixed at once, and it 
remains, to the exclusion of cards and dice, to the end of life. 
Indeed, gardening in general is favourable to the well-being of 
man. As the taste for it decreases in any country, vicious amuse- 
ments and vicious habits are sure to increase. Towns are preferred 
to the country; and the time is spent in something or other that 
conduces to vice and misery. Gardening is a source of much 
greater profit than is generally imagined ; but, merely as an amuse- 
ment, or recreation, it is a thing of very great value : it is a pur- 
suit not only compatible with," but favourable to, the study of 
any art or science : it is conducive to health by means of the 
irresistible temptation which it offers to early rising ; to the stirring 
abroad upon one's legs ; for a man may really ride till he cannot 
walk, sit till he cannot stand, and lie abed till he cannot get up. 
It tends to turn the minds of youth from amusements and attach- 
ments of a frivolous or vicious nature : it is a taste which is in- 
dulged at home : it tends to make home pleasant, and to endear us 
to the spot on which it is our lot to live ; and, as to the expenses 
attending it, what are all these expenses compared with those 
of the short, the unsatisfactory, the injurious enjoyments of the 
card-table, and the rest of those amusements or pastimes which 
are sought for in the town ? 



CHAPTER IV. 
On Propagation and Cultivation in general. 

68. In order to have good products, we must be careful and 
diligent in the propagation and cultivation of the several plants ; 
for, though nature does much, she wall not do ail. He who 
trusts to chance for a crop deserves none, and he generally has 
what he deserves. 

59. The propagation of plants is the bringing of them forth, 
or the increasing and multiplying of them. This is effected in 
several different ways : by seed, by suckers, by offsets, by lagers, by 
cuttings. But, bear in mind that all plants, from the radish to the 
oak, may be propagated by the means of seed ; while there are 



IV.] 



CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 



41 



many plants which can be propagated by no other- means ; and, 
of these the radish and the oak are two. Let me just qualify 
here, by observing that I enter not into the deep question (which 
so many have puzzled their heads with) of equivocal generation. I 
confine myself to things of which we have a certain knowledge. 

60. With regard to propagation by means other than that of 
seed, I shall speak of it fully enough under the names of the 
several plants which are, as to the way of propagating them, to 
be considered as exceptions to the general rule. Therefore, I 
shall, in the present Chapter, treat of propagation by seed only. 

61. Cultivation must, of course, differ, in some respects, to suit 
itself to certain differences in the plants to be cultivated ; but 
there are some principles and rules which apply to the cultiva- 
tion of all plants ; and it is of these only that I propose to speak 
in the present Chapter. 

62. It is quite useless, indeed it is grossly absurd, to prepare 
land and to incur trouble and expense, without duly, and even 
very carefully, attending to the seed that we are going to sow^ The 
sort, the genuineness, the soundness, are all matters to be attended 
to, if we mean to avoid mortification and loss. Therefore, the 
first thing is the 

SORT OF SEED. 

63. We should make sure here ; for, what a loss to have late 
cabbages instead of early ones J As to beans, peas, and many 
other things, there cannot easily be mistake or deception. But, 
as to cabbages, cauliflowers, radishes, lettuces, onions, leeks, and 
numerous others, the eye is no guide at all. If, therefore, you 
do not save your own seed, (of the manner of doing which I shall 
speak by and by), you ought to be very careful as to whom you 
purchase of ; and, though the seller be a person of perfect pro- 
bity, he may be deceived himself. If you do not save your own 
seed, which, as will be seen, cannot always be done with safety • 
all you can do is to take every precaution in your power when 
you purchase. Be very particular, very full and clear, in the order 
you give f^r seed. Know the seedsman well, if possible. Speak 
to him yourself on the subject, if you can ; and, in short, take 
every precaution in your power, in order to avoid the mortifications 
like those of having one sort of cabbage when you expected 
another, and of having rape when you expected turnips or ruta baga. 



42 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



TRUE SEED. 

64. But, besides the kiiid, there is the genuineness to be con- 
sidered. For instance, you want sugar-loaf cabbage. The seed 
you sow may be cabbage : it may, too, be sugar-loaf, or more that 
than anything else : but, still, it may not be true to its kind. It 
may have become degenerate ; it may have become mixed, or 
crossed, in generating. And thus, the plants very much dis- 
appoint you. True seed is a great thing ; for, not only the time 
of the crop coming in, but the quantity and quality of it, greatly 
depend upon the trueness of the seed. You will have plants to 
be sure ; that is to say, you will have something grow ; but you will 
not, if the seed be not true, have the thing you want. 

65. To insure truth in seed, you must, if you purchase, take all 
the precautions recommended as to sort of seed. It will be seen 
presently that to save true seed yourself is by no means an easy 
matter. And, therefore, you must sometimes purchase. Find a 
seedsman that does not deceive you, and stick to him. But, ob- 
serve that no seedsman can always be sure. He cannot raise all 
his seeds himself. He must trust to others. Of course, he may, 
himself, be deceived. Some kinds of seed will keep good many 
years ; and, therefore, when you find that you have got some verg 
true seed of any sort, get some more of it : get as much as will 
last you for the number of years that such seed will keep ; and, to 
know how many years the seeds of garden plants will keep, see 
paragraph 150. 



SOUNDNESS OF SEED. 

66. Seed may be of the right sort ; it may be true to its sort ; 
and yet, if it be unsound, it will not grow, and, of course, is a 
great deal worse than useless, because the sowing of it occasions 
loss of time, loss of cost of seed, loss of use of land, and loss of 
labour, to say nothing about the disappointment and mortification. 
Here, again, if you purchase, you must rely on the seedsman ; and, 
therefore, all the aforementioned precautions are necessary as to 
this point also. In this case (especially if the sowing be exten- 



IV.] 



CULTIVATION IN GENEF.AL. 



43 



sive) the injury may be very great ; and there is no redress. If a 
man sell you one sort of seed for another ; or, if he sell you untrue 
seed ; the law will give you redress to the full extent of the injury 
proved; and the ^?'oo/ can be produced. But, if the seed does 
not come up, what proof have you ? You may prove the sowing ; 
but, who is to prove that the seed was not chilled or scorched in 
the ground ? That it was not eaten by insects there ? That it was 
not destroyed in coming up, or in germinating ? 

67, There are, however, means of ascertaining whether seed be 
sound, or not, before you sow^ it in the ground. I know of no 
seed w hich, if sound and really good, will not sink in water. The 
unsoundness of seed arises from several causes. Unripeness, Might, 
mouldiness, and age, are the most frequent of these causes. The two 
first, if excessive, prevent the seed from ever having the germinat- 
ing quality in them. ]Mouldiness arises from the seed being kept 
in a damp place, or from its having heated. When dried again it 
becomes light. Age will cause the germinating quality to evapo- 
rate ; though, where there is a great proportion of oil in the seed 
this quality will remain in it for many years, as will be seen by- 
and-by. 

68. The way to try seed is this. Put a small quantity of it in 
lukewarm water, and let the water be four or five inches deep. A 
mug or basin will do, but a large tumbler glass is best; for then you 
can see the bottom as well as top. Some seeds, such as those of 
cabbage, radish, and turnip, will, if good, go to the bottom at once. 
Cucumber, melon, lettuce, endive, and many others, require a few 
minutes. Parsnip and carrot, and all the winged seeds, require to 
be w^orked by your fingers in a little water, and well wetted, before 
you put them into the glass : and the carrot should be ruhhed, so 
as to get off part of the hairs, which would otherwise act as the 
feathers do as to a duck. The seed of beet and mangul wurzel are 
in a case or shell. The rough things that we sow are not the 
seeds, but the cases in which the seeds are contained, each case 
containing from one to five seeds. Therefore, the trial by water is 
not, as to these two seeds, conclusive ; though if the seed be very 
good ; if there be four or five in a case, shell and all will sink in 
water, after being in the glass an hour. And, as it is a matter of 
such great importance that every seed should grow in a case where 
the plants stand so far apart ; as gaps in rows of beet and mangul 
wurzel are so very injurious, the best way is to reject all seed that 



44 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



v.ill not sink, case and a'l, after being put into warm water, and 
remaining there an hour. 

69. But, seeds of ad sorts are, sometimes, if not always, part 
sound and part unsound ; and, as the former is not to be rejected 
on account of the latter, the proportion of each should be ascer- 
tained, if a separation be not made. Count, then, a hundred seeds, 
taken promiscuousl}^, and put them into water as before directed. 
If fifty sink and fifty swim, half your seed is bad, and half good ; 
and so, in proportion, as to other numbers of sinkers and swimmers. 
There may be plants, the sound seeds of which will not sink ; but 
I know of none. If it be found in any instance, they w^ould, I think, 
be found in those of the tulip-tree, the ash, the birch, and the 
parsnip, all of which are furnished with so large a portion of 
wing. Yet all these, if sound, will sink, if put info warm water, 
with the wet worked a little into the wings first. 

70. There is, however, another way of ascertaining this impor- 
tant fact, the soundness or unsoundness of seed ; and that is, by 
sowing them . If you have a ]iot-hed{oY, if not, how easy to make 
one for a hand-glass), put a hundred seeds, taken as before di- 
rected, sow them in a flower-pot, and plunge the pot in the earth 
under the glass, in the hot-bed, or hand-glass. The climate, under 
the glass, is warm ; and a very few days will tell you what pro- 
portion of your seed is sound. But there is this to be said ; that, 
with strong heat under, and with such complete protection 
above, seeds may come up that would not come up in the open 
ground. There may be enough of the germinating principle to 
cause vegetation in a hot-bed, and not enough to cause it in the 
open air and cold ground. Therefore I incline to the opinion that 
w e should try seeds as our ancestors tried witches ; not by fire, but 
by water ; and that, following up their practice, we should repro- 
bate and destroy all that do not readily sink. 



SAVING AND PRESERVING SEED. 

71. This is a most important branch of the gardener's business. 
There are rules applicable to particular plants. Those will be 
given in their proper places. It is my business here to speak of 
such as are applicable to all plants. 

72. First, as to the saving of seed, the truest plants should be 



v.] CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 45 

selected ; that is to say, such as are of the most perfect shape and 
quality. In the cabbage, we seek small stem, well-formed loaf, few 
spare, or loose leaves ; in the turnip, large bulb, small neck, slender- 
stalked leaves, soUd flesh, or pulp ; in the radish, high colour (if 
red or scarlet), small neck, few and short leaves, and long top. The 
marks of perfection are well known, and none but perfect plants 
should be saved for seed. The case is somewhat different as to 
plants, which are some male and others female, but these present 
exceptions to be noticed under the names of such plants. 

73. Of plants, the early coming of which is a circumstance of 
importance, the very earliest should be chosen for seed ; for they 
will almost always be found to include the highest degree of per- 
fection iii other respects. They should have great pains taken with 
them ; the soil and situation should be good ; and they should be 
carefully cultivated during the time that they are carrying on their 
seed to perfection. 

74. But effectual means must be taken to prevent a mixing of the 
sorts, or, to speak in the language of farmers, a crossing of the breeds. 
There can be no cross between the sheep and the dog : but there 
can be between the dog and the wolf ; and, we daily see it between 
the greyhound and the hound ; each valuable when true to his 
kind ; and a cross between the two fit for nothing but the rope : 
a word which, on this occasion, I use, in preference to that halter , 
out of respect for the modern laws and usages of my country. 

75. There can be no cross between a cabbage and a carrot ; but 
there can be between a cabbage and a turnip : between a cabbage 
and a cauliflower nothiiig is more common ; and, as to the different 
sorts of cabbages, they will produce crosses, presenting twenty, 
and perhaps a thousand, degrees, fiom the Early York to the Savoy. 
Turnips will mix with radishes and ruta-baga ; all these with rape ; 
the result will mix with cabbages and cauliflowers ; so that, if 
nothing were done to preserve plants true to their kind, our gar- 
dens would soon present us with little besides mere herbage. 

76. As to the causes, I will not here dive into them. Suffice it 
that we know that all sorts will mix, when seed-plants of the same 
tribe stand near each other ; and we may easily suppose that this 
may probably take place though the plants stand at a considerable 
distance apart, since I have, in the case of my Indian corn, given 
proof of mixture, when the plants were three hundred yards from 
each other. What must be the consequence, then, of saving seed 



46 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



from cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squashes, and gourds, all 
growing in the same garden at the same time ! To save" the seed 
of two sorts of any tribe, in the same garden, in the same year, 
ought not to be attempted; and this it is that makes it difficult for 
any one man to raise all sorts of seeds good and true. 

77. However, some may be saved by every one who has a gar- 
den, and when raised, they ought to be carefully preserved. They 
are best preserved in the pod, or on the stalks. Seeds of many 
sorts will be perfectly good to the age of eight or ten years, if 
kept in the pod or on the stalks, which seeds, if threshed, will be 
good for little at the end of three years or less. However, to keep 
seeds, without threshing them out, is seldom convenient, often 
impracticable, and always exposes them to injury from mice and 
rats, and from various other enemies, of which, however, the 
greatest is carelessness. Therefore, the best way is, except for 
things that are very curious, and that lie in a small compass, to 
thresh out all seeds. 

78. They should stand till perfectly ripe, if possible. They 
should be cut, or pulled, or gathered, when it is dry ; and they 
should, if possible, be dry as dry can be before they are threshed 
out. If, when threshed, any moisture remain about them, they 
should be placed in the sun, or near a fire in a dry room ; and, when 
quite dry, should be put into bags, and hung up against a very dry 
wall, or dry boards, where they will by no accident get damp. The 
best place is some room, or place, where there is, occasionally at 
least, a. fire kept in winter. 

79. Thus preserved kept from open air and from damp, the 
seeds of vegetables will keep sound and good for sowing for the 
number of years stated in the following list ; to which the reader 
will particularly attend. Some of the seeds in this list will keep, 
sometimes, a year longer, if very very well saved and very well pre- 
served, and especially if closely kept from exposure to the open air. 
But, to lose a crop from unsoundness of seed is a sad thing, and, it 
is indeed negligence wholly inexcusable to sow seed of the sound- 
ness of which we are not certain. 



IV.] 



CULTIVATION 



IN GENERAL 



47 



VEAR9 

Artichoke 3 

Asparagus 4 

Balm 2 

Basil 2 

Bean 1 

Bean (Kidney) 1 

Beet 10 

Borage 4 

Brocoli 4 

Burnet 6 

Cabbage 4 

Calabash 7 

Cale 4 

Cale (Sea) 3 

Camomile 2 

Capsicum 2 

Caraway 4 

Carrot 1 

Cauliflower 4 

Celery 10 

Chervil 6 

Cives 3 

Corn 3 

Corn- Salad 2 

Coriander 3 

Cress 2 

Cucumber 10 

Dandelion 10 

Dock 1 

Endive 4 

Fennel 5 

Garlick 3 

Gourd 10 

Hop 2 

Horse-Radish 4 

Hyssop 6 

Jerusalemn Artichoke ... 3 

Lavender 2 

Leek 2 



T EAHS 



Lettuce 3 

Mangel Wurzel 10 

Marjoram 4 

Marigold 3 

Melon 10 

Mint 4 

Mustard 4 

Nasturtium 2 

Onion 2 

Parsley 6 

Parsnip 1 

Pea 1 

Pennyroyal 2 

Potato 3 

Pumpkin 10 

Purslane 2 

Radish 2 

Rampion 2 

Rape 4 

Rhubarb 1 

Rosemary 3 

Rue 3 

Ruta-Baga 4 

Salsify 2 

Samphire 3 

Savory 2 

Scorzenera 2 

Shalot 4 

Skirret 4 

Sorrel 7 

Spinage 4 

Squash 10 

Tansy 3 

Tarragon 4 

Thyme 2 

Tomatum 2 

Turnip 4 

Wormwood 2 



48 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



80. Notwithstanding this list, I always sow new seed in pre- 
ference to old, if, in all other respects, I know the new to be equal 
to the old. And, as to the notion that seeds can be the better 
for being old, even more than a year old, I hold it to be mon- 
strously absurd : and this opinion I give as the result of long ex- 
perience, most attentive observation, and numerous experiments 
made for the express purpose of ascertaining the fact. 

81. Yet, it is a received opinion, a thing taken for granted, an 
axiom in horticulture, that melon seed is the better for being old. 
Mr. Marshall says that it ought to be ah out four years old, 
though some prefer it 7nuch older.'' And he afterwards observes 
that " if new seed only can be had, it should be carried a week or 
two in the breeches-jjocket, to dry away some of the more loatery 
particles ! " If age be a recommendation in rules as ^yell as in 
melon-seed, this rule has it ; for English authors published it, and 
French authors laughed at it, more than a century jyast ! 

82. Those w ho can afford to have melons raised in their gar- 
dens can afford to keep a conjurer to raise them ; and a conjurer 
will hardly condescend to follow common sense in his practice. 
This would be lowering the profession in the eyes of the vulgar ; 
and, which would be very dangerous, in the eyes of his employer. 
However, a great deal of this stuff is traditionary ; and how are 
we to find the conscience to blame a gardener for errors inculcated 
by gentlemen of erudition ! 

83. I cannot dismiss this part of my subject without once more 
cautioning the reader against the danger of unripe seed. In cases 
where winter overtakes you before your seed be quite ripe, the 
best way is to pull up the plants and hang them by the heels in a 
dry airy place, till all green depart from the stalks, and until they 
be quite dry, and wholly rid of juice. Even in hot weather, when 
the seed would drop out if the plants were left standing, pull or 
cut the plants, and lay them on a cloth in the sun, till the seed be 
all ready to fall out ; for, if forced from the pod, the seed is never 
so good. Seeds will groio if gathered when they are green as 
grass, and afterwards dried in the sun ; but they do not produce 
plants like those coming from ripe seed. I tried, some years ago, 
fifty grains of wheat, gathered green, against fifty gathered ripe. 
Not only were the plants of the former feeble, when compared 
with the latter ; not on'y was the produce of the former two- 
thirds less than that of the latter; but even the quality of the grain 



IV.] 



CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 



49 



was not half so good. Many of the ears had smut, which was not 
the case with those that came from the ripened seed, though the 
land and the cultivation were, in both cases, the same. 



SOWING. 

86. The first thing relating to sowing is the preparation of the 
ground. It may be more or less fine, according to the sort of 
seed to be sown. Peas and beans do not, of course, require the 
earth so fine as small seeds do. But, still, the finer the better for 
everything ; for it is best if the seed be actually pressed by the 
earth in every part ; and many seeds, if not all, are best situated 
when the earth is trodden down upon them. 

87. Of course the ground should be good, either in itself, or 
made good by manure of some sort. But, in all cases, the ground 
should he fresh; that is to say, it should be dug just before the 
act of sowing, in order that the seeds may have the full benefit of 
the fermentation, that takes place upon every moving of the earth. 

88. Never sow when the ground is wet ; nor, indeed, if it can be 
avoided, perform any other act with or on the ground of a garden. 
If you dig ground in wet weather, you make a sort of mortar of it ; 
it binds when the sun or wind dries it. The fermentation does 
not take place : and it becomes unfavourable to vegetation, espe- 
cially if the ground be, in the smallest degree, stiff in its nature. 
It is even desirable that wet should not come for some days after 
ground has been moved • for if the wet come before the ground 
be dry at top, the earth will run together, and will become bound 
at top. Sow, therefore, if possible, in dry weather, but in freshly- 
moved ground. 

89. The season for sowing will, of course, find a place under the 
names of the respective plants ; and, I do hope that it is unne- 
cessary for me to say that sowing according to the moon is wholly 
absurd and ridiculous ; and that it arose solely out of the circum- 
stance that our forefathers, who could not read, had neither 
almanack nor calendar to guide them, and who counted by moons 
and festivals, instead of by months and days of months. 

90. As to the act of sowing, the distances and depths differ 
with different plants, and these will, of course, be pointed out 
under the names of those different plants ; but, one thing is com- 
mon to all seeds ; and that is that they should be sown mrows oi 

E 



50 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



drilk ; for, unless they be sown in this way, all is uncertainty. 
The distribution of the seed is unequal ; the covering is of unequal 
depth ; and when the plants come up in company with the weeds, 
the difficulty of ridding the ground of the latter, without destroy- 
ing the former, is ver}' great indeed, and attended with ten times 
the labour. Plants, in their earliest state, generally require to be 
thinned ; which cannot be done ^nth regularity unless they stand 
in rows ; and, as to every future operation, how easy is the labour 
in the one case, and \\o\\ hard in the other ! It is of great advan- 
tage to almost all plants to move the ground somewhat deep while 
thev are growing ; but how is this to be done unless they stand in 
rows ? If they be dispersed promiscuously over the ground, to 
perforai this operation is next to impossible. 

91. The great obstacle to the following of a method so ob- 
viouslv advantageous is the trouhle. To draw lines for peas and 
beans is not deemed troublesome ; but, to do this for radishes, 
onions, carrots, lettuces, beds of cabbages, and other small seeds, 
is regarded as tedious. When vv'e consider the saving of trouhle 
afterwards^ this trouble is really nothing, even if the drills were 
drawn one at a time by a line or rule : bwt this need not to be the 
case : for a very cheap and simple tool does the business with as 
much quickness as sowing at random. 

92. Suppose there be a bed of Onions to be sown. I make my 
drills in this way. I have what I call a Driller, which is a rane 
six feet long in the head. This head is made of oak, 2 inches by 
2| ; and has teeth in at eiglit inches asunder, each tooth being 
about six inches long, and an inch in diameter at the head, and is 
pointed a little at the end that meets the ground. This gives nine 
teeth, there being four inches over at each end of the head. In 
this head, there is a handle lixed of about six feet long. When 
my ground is prepared, raked nice and smooth, and cleaned from 
stones and clods, I begin at the left-hand end of the bed, and draw 
across it nine rows at once. I then proceed, taking care to keep 
the left-hand tooth of the driller in the right-hand drill that has 
just been made; so that now I make but eight new drills, because 
(for a guide) the left-hand tooth goes this time in the drill \vhich 
was before made by the right-hand tooth. Thus, at every draw, I 
make eight drills. And, in this way, a pretty long bed is formed 
into nice straight drills in a very few minutes. The sowing, after 
this, is done with truth, and the depth of the covering must be 



.v.] 



CULTIVATION IN" GENERAL. 



51 



alike for all the seeds. If it be parsnips or carrots, which require 
a \^"ider distance bet^veen the rows ; or, cabbage-plants, which, 
as thev are to stand only for a while, do not require distances so 
wide ; in these cases other drillers may be made. 

93. In the case of large pieces of ground, a hand-driller is not 
sufficient. Yet, if the land be ploughed^ furrows might make the 
paths, the harrow might smooth the ground, and the hand-driller 
might be used for onions, or for amthing else. However, what 
I did in America for Kidney beans was this : I had a roller drawn 
by an ox or a horse. The roller was about eight inches in di- 
ameter, and ten feet long. To that part of the frame of the roUer 
which projects, or hangs over, beyond the roller behind, I attached, 
by means of tviro pieces of icood and two pins, a bar ten feet long. 
Into this bar I put ten teeth ; and near the middle of the bar two 
handles. The roller, being put in motion, breaks all the clods that 
the haiTOw has left, draws after it the ten teeth, and the ten teeth 
make ten drills, as deep or as shallow as the man chooses who 
follows the roller holding the two handles of the bar. The two 
pieces of wood, which connect the bar with the hinder projecting 
part of the frame of the roller, icorh on the pins, so as to let the 
bar up and do^Ti, as occasion may require : and, of course, while 
the roller is turning at the end, the bar, with the teeth in it, is 
raised from the ground. 

94. Thus are ten drills made by an ox, in about jii-e minutes, 
which would perhaps require a man more than a day to make with 
a hoe. In short, an ox, or a horse, and a man and a boy, will do 
t^velve acres in a day with ease. And to draw the drills with a 
hoe would require forty-eight men at the least ; for, there is the 
line to be at work as well as the hoe. Wheat, and even peas, are 
in the fields drilled by machii.es ; but beans cannot, and especially 
kidney-beans. Drills must be made : and, where they are culti- 
vated on a large scale, how tedious and expensive must be the 
operation to make the driUs by line and hoe ! When the driOs are 
made, the beans are laid in at proper distances, then covered with 
a light harrow : and after all comes the roller, with the teeth lifted 
up, of course ; and all is smooth and neat. The expense of such 
an apparatus is, really, nothing worth notice. 

95. In order to rer.der the march of the ox straight, my ground 
was ploughed into lands, one of which took the ten rows of kid- 
ney-beans : so that the ox had only to be kept straight along upon 

E 2 



52 



PROPAGATIO>' AND 



[cHaP. 



the middle of the land. And in order to have the lands fiat, not 
arched at all, the ground ^vas ploughed twice in this shape, which 
brought the middle of the lands where the furrows were before. If, 
however, the ground had been fiat-ploughed, without any furrow, 
there would have been no difficulty. I should have started on a 
straight side, or on the straightest side, leaving out any crook or 
angle that there might have been. I should have taken two distinct 
objects, found, or placed, beyond the end of the work, and should 
have directed the head of the ox in a line with those two obje<:ts. 
Before I started, I should have measured off the width to find where 
the ox ought to come to again, and then have fixed two objects to 
direct his coming back. I should have done this at each end, till 
the piece had been finished. 

96. ^^ hen the seeds, in the garden-sownig, are properly, and 
at suitable distances, placed in the drills, rake the ground, and, 
in all cases, tread it with your feet, unless it be very moist. Then 
rake it slightly again ; for all seeds grow best when the earth is 
pressed closely about them. ^Yhen the plants come up, thin them, 
keep them clear of weeds, and attend to the directions given under 
the names of the several plants. 



TRANSPLANTING. 

97. The weather for transplanting is the same as that for sow- 
ing. If you do this work in wet weather, or when the ground is 
wet, the work cannot be well done. It is no matter what the plant 
is, whether it be a cucumber plant, or an oak-tree. It has been 
observed, as to seeds, that they like the earth to touch them in 
every part, and to lie close about them. It is the same with roots. 
One half of the bad gro\vth that we see in orchards arises from neg- 
ligence in the planting : from tumbling the earth carelessly in upon 
the roots. The earth should be as fine as possible ; for, if it be not, 
part of the roots will remain untouched by the earth. If the ground 
be wet, it cannot he fine. And, if mixed wet, it will remain in a 
sort of mortar, an^ v> ill clii:g and bind together, and will leave 
more or less of cracks, when it becomes dry. 

98. If possible, therefore, transplant when the gronnd is not 
wet ; but, here again, as in the case of sowing, let it be dug, or 
deeply moved, and well broken, immediately before you transplant 



v.] 



CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 



into it. There is a fermentation that takes place immediately after 
moving, and a dew arises, which did not arise before. These greatly 
exceed, in power of causing the plant to strike, anything to be 
obtained by rain on the plants at the time of planting or by plant- 
ing in wet earth. Cabbages and Ruta Baga (or Swedish Turnip) 
I have proved, in innumerable instances, will, if planted in freshly, 
moved earth, under a burning sun, be a great deal finer than those 
planted in wet ground, or during rain. The causes are explained 
in the foregoing paragraph ; and there never was a greater, though 
a most popular, error than that of waiting for a shower, in order 
to set about the work of transplanting. In all the books that I 
have read, without a single exception ; in the English Gardening 
books ; in the English Farmer's Dictionary, and many other works 
on English Husbandry ; in the Encyclopoedia ; in short, in all the 
books on husbandry and on gardening that I have ever read, English 
and French, this transplanting in showery iceather is recommended. 

99- If you transplant in hot weather, the leaves of the plants 
will be scorched ; but the hearts will live ; and the heat, assisting 
the fermentation, will produce new roots in twenty-four hours, and 
new leaves in a few days. Then it is that you see fine vegetation 
come on. If you plant in wet, that wet must be follow^ed by dry ; 
the earth, from being moved in wet, contracts the mortary nature ; 
hardens first, and then cracks ; and the plants wall stand in a 
stunted state till the ground be moved about them in dry weather. 
If I could have my wish in the planting of a piece of cabbages, 
ruta baga, lettuces, or almost anything, I would find the ground 
perfectly dry at top ; I would have it dug deeply ; plant imme- 
diately ; and have no rain for three or four days. I would prefer 
no rain for a month, to rain at the time of planting. 

100. This is a matter of primary importance. How many crops 
are lost by icaitingfor a shower! And, when the showier comes, 
the ground is either not dug, or it has been dug for some time, and 
the benefit of the fermentation is wholly lost. 

101. However, there are some very tender plants ; plants so soft 
and juicy as to be absolutely burnt up, and totally destroyed, stems 
and all, in a hot sun, in a few hours. These, which lie in a small 
compass, must be shaded at least, if not watered, upon their re- 
moval ; a more particular notice of which will be taken as w e 
proceed in the Lists of the Plants. 

102. In the act of transplanting, the main things are to take care 



54 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



not to hury the heart of the plant ; and to take care that the earth 
be well pressed about the point of the root of the plant. To press 
the earth very closely about the stem of the plant is of little use, 
if you leave the point of the root loose. I beg this may be borne 
in mind ; for the growth, and even the life, of the plant, depend on 
great care as to this particular. — See Cabbage y paragraph 130, for 
a minute description of the act of planting. 

103. As to propagation by cuttings, slips, layers, and offsets, it 
will be spoken of under the names of the several plants usually pro- 
pagated in any of those ways. Cuttings are pieces cut off from 
branches of trees and plants. Slips are branches pulled off, and 
slipped down at a joint. Layers are branches left on the pi ant 
or tree, and bent down to the ground, and fastened, with earth laid 
upon the part between the plant and the top of the branch. Off- 
sets are parts of the root and plant separated from the main root. 



CULTIVATION. 

104. Here, as in the foregoing parts of this Chapter, I propose 
to speak only of what is of ^e??er«/ application, in order to save the 
room that would be necessary to repeat instructions for cultivation 
under the names of the several plants. 

105. The ground being good, and the sowing or planting hav- 
ing been properly performed, the next thing is the after-manage- 
ment, which is usually called the cultivation. 

106. If the subject be iiomseed, the first thing is to see that the 
plants stand at a proper distance from each other ; because, if left 
too close, they cannot come to good. Let them also be thinned 
early ; for, even while in seed-leaf, they injure each other. 
Carrots, parsnips, lettuces, everything, ought to be thinned in the 
seed-leaf. 

107. Hoe or weed immediately : and, let me observe here, once 
for all, that weeds never ought to be suffered to get to any size 
either in field or garden, and especially in the latter. 

108. But, besides the act of killing weeds, cultivation means 
moving the earth between the plants while growing. This assists 
them in their growth : it feeds them : it raises food for their roots 
to live upon. A mere ^«^-hoeing does nothing but keep down the 
weeds. The hoeing, when the plants' are become stout, should be 
deep ; and, in general, with a hoe that has spanes^ instead of a 



IV.] CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 55 

mere flat plate. In short, a sort prong in the posture of a hoe. 
And the spane of this prong-hoe may be longer, or shorter, accord- 
ing to the nature of the crop to be hoed. Deep-hoeing is enough 
in some cases ; but, in others, digging is necessary to produce a fine 
and full crop. If anybody will have a piece of cabbages, and will 
dig between the rows of one half of them twice during their growth, 
and let the other half of the piece have nothing but a flat-hoeing, 
that person will find that the half which has been digged between 
will, when the crop is ripe, weigh nearly, if not quite, twice as 
much as the other half. 

109. It may appear that to dig thus amongst growing plants 
is to cut off, or tear ofl", their roots, of which the ground is full. 
This is really the case, and this does great good ; for the roots, 
thus cut asunder, shoot again from the plant's side, find new food, 
and send, instantly, fresh vigour to the plant. The effect of this 
tillage is quite surprising. We are hardly aware of its power in 
producing vegetation ; and we are still less aware of the distance 
to which the roots of plants extend in every direction. 

110. Mr. Tull, the father of the drill-husbandry, gives the fol- 
lowing account of the manner in which he discovered the distance 
to which certain roots extend. I should observe, here, that he 
was led to think of the drilling crops in the fields of England from 
having, when in France, observed the eff'ects of inter-tillage on the 
vines, in the vineyards. If he had visited America instead of France, 
he would have seen the effects of that tillage in a still more striking 
light, on plants in the Indian corn-fields ; for, he would have seen 
those plants splindling, yellow, actually perishing, to-day, for want 
of ploughing ; and, in four days after a good, deep, clean,"" and 
careful ploughing, especially in hot weather, he would have seen 
them wholly change their colour, become of a bright and beautiful 

^ green, bending their leaves over the intervals, and growing at the 
rate of four inches in the twenty-four hours. 

111. The passage to which I have alluded is of so interesting a 
nature, and relates to a matter of so much importance, that I shall 
insert it entire, and also t\ve plate made use of by Mr. Tull to illus- 
trate his meaning. I shall not, as so many others have, take the 
thoughts, and send them forth as my own ; nor, like Mr. John 
Christian Curwen, a member of Parliament, steal them from 
Tull, and give them, with all the honour belonging to them, to 
a Bishop. 



56 PROPAGATION AND [CHAP. 

112. " ^ Method how to find the distance to which roots extend 
horizontally.'' A piece, or plot, dug and made fine, in whole hard 
ground, as in Plate II. Fig. 1. 




IV.] 



CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 



57 



The end A 2 feet, the end B 12 feet, the length of the piece 20 
yards ; the figures in the middle of it are 20 turnips, sown early, 
and well hoed. The manner of this hoeing must be, at first, near 
the plants, with a spade, and each time afterwards, a foot dis- 
tance, till the earth be once well dug ; and, if weeds appear where 
it has been so dug, hoe them out shallow with the hand-hoe. 
But, dig all the piece next the out-lines deep every time, that it 
may be the finer for the roots to enter, when they are permitted 
to come thither. If the turnips be all bigger, as they stand 
nearer to the end B, it is a proof that they all extend to the 
outside of the piece, and the Turnip 20 will appear to draw 
nourishment from six foot distance from its centre. But if the 
Turnips l6, 17, 18, 19? 20, acquire no greater bulk than the 
Turnip 15, it will be clear that their roots extend no farther than 
those of the Turnip 15 does ; which is about four foot. By this 
method the distance of the extent of the roots of any plant may 
be discovered. — There is also another way to find the length of 
roots, by making a long narrow trench, at the distance you ex- 
pect they will extend to, and fill it with salt ; if the plant be 
killed by the salt, it is certain that some of the roots enter it. 

113. What put me upon trying this method was an observa- 
tion of two lands, or ridges, (see Plate II. Fig. 2.) drilled with 
Turnips in rows, a foot asunder, and very even in them ; the 
ground, at both ends and one side, was hard and unploughed. 
The Turnips f not being hoed, were very poor, small and yellow, 
except the three outside rows b c (i, which stood next to the land 
(or ridge) E, which land, being ploughed and harrowed, at the 
time the land A ought to have been hoed, gave a dark flourishing 
colour to these three rows ; and the Turnips in the row d, which 
stood farthest off from the new ploughed land E, received so 
much benelit from it as to grow twice as big as any of the more 
distant rows. The row c, being a foot nearer to the new ploughed 
land, became twice as large as those in but the row Z>, which 
was next to the land grew much larger yet. is a peice of 
hard whole ground, of about two perch in length, and about two 
or three foot broad, lying betwixt those two lands which had not 
been ploughed that year; it was remarkable that, during the 
length of this interjacent hard ground, the rows bed were as 
small and yellow as any in the land. The Turnips in the row 
d, about three foot distant from the land E, receiving a double 



58 



PROPAGATION AND 



[chap. 



increase, proves they had as much nourishment from the land E 
as from the land A, wherein they stood, which nourishment was 
brought by less than half the number of roots of each of these 
Turnips. In their own land they must have extended a yard all 
round, else they could not have reached the land E, wherein it 
is probable these few roots went more than another yard, to give 
each turnip as much increase as all the roots had done in their 
own land. Except that it will hereafter appear that the new 
nourishment, taken at the extremities of the roots in the land E, 
might enable the plants to send out more new roots in their 
own land, and receive something more from thence. The row c, 
being twice as big as the row dy must be supposed to extend 
twice as far ; and the row h four times as far, in proportion as 
it was of a bulk quadruple to the row 

114. Thus, then, it is clear that tillage amongst growing plants 
is a great thing. Not only is it of great benefit to the plants ; not 
only does it greatly augment the amount of the crop, and make it 
of the best quality ; but it prepares the ground for another crop. 
If a summer fallow be good for the land, here is a summer fallow ; 
if the ploughing between tmm^s prepare the land for wheat, the 
digging between cabbages and other crops will, of course, prepare 
the land for succeeding crops. 

115. Watering plants, though so strongly recommended in 
English Gardening books, and so much in practice, is a thing of 
very doubtful utility in any case, and, in most cases, of positive 
injury. A country often endures present suffering from long 
drought ; but, if even ail the gardens and all the fields could, in 
such a case, be watered with a watering-pot, I much question 
whether it would be beneficial even to the crops of the dry season 
itself. It is not, observe, rain water that you can, one time out of 
a thousand, water with. And, to nourish plants, the water must 
be prepared in clouds and mists and dews. Observe this. Besides, 
when rain comes, the earth is prepared for it by that state of the 
air which, precedes rain, and which makes all things damp, and 
slackens and loosens the earth, and disposes the roots and leaves 
for the reception of the rain. To pour water, therefore, upon 
plants, or upon the ground where they are growing, or where seeds 
are sown, is never of much use, and is generally mischievous ; for, 
the air is dry ; the sun comes immediately and bakes the ground, 
and vegetation is checked, rather than advanced, by the operation. 



CULTIVATION IN GENERAL. 



59 



The best protector against frequent drought is frequent digging ; 
or, in the fields, ploughing, and always deep. Hence will arise a 
fermentation and deics. The ground will have moisture in it, in 
spite of all drought, which the hard, unmoved ground, will not. 
But always dig or plough in dry weather, and the drier the w^ea- 
ther, the deeper you ought to go, and the finer you ought to break 
the earth. When plants are covered by lights, or are in a house, 
or are covered with cloths in the night time, they may need water- 
ing, and in such cases must have it given them by hand. 

116. I shall conclude this Chapter with observing on what I 
deem a vulgar error, and an error too which sometimes produces in- 
convenience. It is believed and stated that the ground grows tired, 
in time, of the same sort of plant ; and that, if it be, year after 
year, cropped M'ith the same sort of plant, the produce will be 
small, and the quality inferior to what it was at first. Mr. Tull 
has most satisfactorily proved, both by fact and argument, that this 
is not true. And I will add this fact, that Mr. Missing, a barris- 
ter, living in the pansh of Titchfield, in Hampshire, and who was 
a most excellent and kind neighbour of mine, has a border under a 
south wall, on which he, and his father before him, have grown 
early peas, every year, for more, noio, than ffty years ; and if, at 
any time, they had been finer than they were every one year of the 
four or five years that I saw them, they must have been something 
very extraordinary ; for, in those years, they were as fine, and as 
full bearing, as any that I ever saw in England. 

117. Before I entirely quitted the subject of Cultivation, there 
would be a few remarks to be made upon the means of pre- 
venting the depredations of vermin, some of which make their 
attacks on the seed, others on the roots, others on the stem, others 
on the leaves and blossoms, and others on the fruit ; but, as I shall 
have to be very particular on this subject in speaking of fruits, I 
defer it till I come to the Chapter on Fruits. 

118. Having now treated of the Situation, Soil, Fencing, and 
Laying out of Gardens ; on the making and managing of Hot-beds 
and Green-houses ; and having given some directions as to Pro- 
pagation and Cultivation in general, I next proceed to give Alpha- 
betical Lists of the several sorts of plants, and to speak of the 
proper treatment for each, under the three heads. Vegetables and 
Herbs; Fruits; and Flowers. 



60 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



CHAPTER V. 

Kitchen-garden Plants, arranged in Alphabetical order , with Di- 
rections relative to the Propagation and Cultivation of each sort. 



119. The plants which are cultivated in the kitchen-garden are 
either such as are for food, or for medicinal purposes. The former 
are generally called vegetahles, and the latter herbs ; and then there 
are pot-herbs and medicinal herbs, which, altogether, forms a 
strange jumble and inconsistency ; everything being vegetable that 
grows out of the earth, from a blade of grass to an oak-tree. The 
best and most consistent way, therefore, is to give the name of 
Kitchen-garden plants to all the things grown in the kitchen- 
garden, except fruits, which will have a distinct Chapter allotted 
to themselves. The alphabetical order is also the best, because 
each article is referred to with so much convenience. The reader 
will please to bear in mind what has been said in the foregoing 
Chapter with regard to propagation and cultivation in general ; 
that Chapter being written for the express purpose of preventing 
the necessity of repeating, under every particular article, directions 
for selecting the sorts, for saving and preserving the seed, for sow- 
ing, for transplanting, and for after cultivation. The rules there 
laid down are applicable to all kitchen-garden plants ; some addi- 
tional rules given in this chapter will apply to each plant re- 
spectively. After this preface, I begin the list of kitchen-garden 
plants in the manner before described. 

120. ARTICHOKE. — This plant is propagated either from 
seed or from offsets. If from the former, sow the seed in rows a 
foot apart, in the month of March ; thin them to a foot apart 
as soon as they are an inch high ; keep them cleanly weeded, and 
the ground moved, now-and-then, during the summer ; and, in the 
autumn, they will be large enough to plant out where they are to 
stand and to bear. They are things that require a good deal of 
room, and a very rich soil. Dung, which would be mischievous in 
some cases, can do no harm here. The ground ought to be fresh 
dug in the month of October, the plants taken up, and the points 
of the roots tipped with a sharp knife. They should be planted 
in clumps, at three feet apart in the row of clumps, and the rows 



v.] 



ARTICHOKE. 



61 



should be about live feet apart. Each clump should have four 
good plants in it, and these should be well fastened in the ground, 
each plant standing at about nine inchesfrom the other. When 
winter comes on, if hard frosts come, the clumps should be covered 
pretty thickly with litter, which, however, should be taken of( 
again as soon as the frost is out of the ground ; but no plant which 
has been covered to be protected from the frost should be unco- 
vered, and the sun left to come upon the ground where it stands, 
before the thaw has completely taken place. In the spring, the 
ground about the clumps should be moved up a little with a fork, 
and nicely broken in dry weather, in March or April. These 
plants will bear fruit the first year ; and, if properly managed, will 
continue to bear for a great many years. When their roots reach 
stagnant water, or any soil which they do not like, the plants begin 
to give out ; but, otherwise, they will keep bearing for a great 
number of years. The next spring, that is to say, the second 
spring after being planted out, you will find that they have 
sent out great numbers of side-shoots or offsets ; you should, 
therefore, move the earth away a little round the clump, and take 
off these offsets, which would otherwise prevent the great bearing 
of the plant. When you take off these offsets, you will find some 
very stout, while others will be very weak ; and, if you want a new 
plantation, these offsets are as good plants as any ; and if stout, 
they will bear the first year, but, and very conveniently, they will 
come into bearing after the old plants have done. The artichoke, 
although so robust a plant, is very sensible of the frost. Therefore, 
each clump should have the earth drawn up pretty much about it 
in the fall of the year, but in dry weather if possible, and in very 
severe weather, some litter should be laid on the top of each 
clump, being always taken off as soon as the frost is completely 
out of the ground. In the spring, the whole of the ground ought 
to be carefully dug, and the earth levelled down from the sides of 
the clumps ; the offsets should now be taken off, and the plants 
left to produce their crop. The rows of plants being five feet 
apart, affords an opportunity for planting other things between 
them ; but this can hardly be done to any great advantage except 
you be in very great want of room ; for, what you gain in this way, 
you lose by the imperfect culture of the artichakes. They love 
cooZ ground, though not stagnant water at the bottom ; and perhaps 
the best situation for them would be under the south side hedge 



62 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



of the outer garden. One row of clumps along under that hedge, 
and at three feet from it, would contain fifty clumps, which would, 
if well cultivated, produce enough for any family in the world. 
The artichoke is a large, rude and tall thing, and, thus situated, it 
would not intercept the view of prettier crops. If part of that 
shady hedge were wanted for other things, you might have two 
rows of artichokes, extending half the length of the row before 
mentioned. Those who are very fond of artichokes might have 
some few clumps in an earlier spot ; and, to have them late in the 
year, the latest should be cut off with stems as long as possible, 
and these stems stuck into moist earth or sand in a cool shed or in 
a cellar ; preserved in which manner many people have them to eat 
in January. There are two sorts of this plant, the difference of 
which consists, I believe, solely in the fruit, or rather of the flower ; 
for, after all, the seed is the fruit. One of these sorts bears a coni- 
cal head, the other a head which is round. The latter is larger 
than the former, but I never heard that there was any difference in 
the quality. If you wish to save the seed of this plant, you ought 
to let some of the earliest heads remain uncut, they will flower like 
a thistle in the summer, and the seed, very much like that of 
ihe sunflower, will be ripe in the fall. Gather it when per- 
fectly dry, rub it out of the husk, and put it by in a very dry place, 
where it will keep good for three years at the least. 

121. ASPARAGUS.— This plant is raised from seed only. It 
is contained in small berries which are first green and then red, 
each of which contains two or three black seeds which are ripe in 
the month of October. The seed should be then gathered, made 
perfectly dry ; the pods kept whole and hung up in a dry place 
for use ; when wanted to be sown, it should be rubbed out of the 
pod. Out of the pod the seed will keep four or five years ; but if 
in the pod and kept dry, it would probably keep twenty. To have 
asparagus heds there are two ways of going to work : first : sowing 
the seeds in the beds at once ; and, second, raising the plants else- 
where, and transplanting them into beds. The beds ought to be 
four feet wide, and not more, because you ought to be able to cut 
the asparagus without going upon the beds. If the ground where 
the beds are to be have a dry bottom to a great depth, the beds 
may stand pretty nearly upon a level with the common earth of the 
garden ; but, if the bottom be wet, the paths between the beds 
ought to be deep ; they ought to serve as trenches ; for asparagus 



ASPARAGUS. 



63 



does not like to have its roots sopping in wet ; and yet it likes rich 
and rather moist ground. It is understood that the whole of the 
garden has been trenched to the depth of three feet nine inches, to 
which depth, however, the root of the asparagus will not be very 
long in going ; for, if the culture be good, and the bottom free from 
stagnant water, a plantation will last a good long life-time, or 
more. The ground being manured well, w ell-dug, and made very 
fine, lay out your beds in March, in dry weather ; or, indeed, in good 
ground, any time in April may do very well. Suppose four beds 
to be wanted, each of them as long as the width of one of the plats 
in the garden. Lay out the four beds at the w est end, for instance, 
of plat g ; and the beds wdll, of course, run from north to south : 
each bed is to be four feet wdde and each alley between the beds 
two feet, or two feet and a half, wide. As you mark out your beds, 
drive down, at each corner, a pin of some durable wood, about the 
size of your wrist (if it be a stout one), and going dow^n into the 
ground a foot and a half at least, leaving six inches to be above 
ground ; these pins being always ready to apply the line to, wil 
prevent the beds from ever getting out of their proper shape. Hav- 
ing laid out the beds, make three lines along each, placing the first 
line at six inches from the outside of the bed. The lines are to be 
a foot apart, and that will leave six inches from the outside line to 
the outside of the bed ; sow the seed along these lines, press it well 
down into the ground, and cover it lightly. The plants will be up 
in June ; and, as soon as they are fairly up, thin them to a foot apart, 
and keep them very clean and nicely hoed all the summer. They 
will, in the autumn, have stalks or haulm about a foot high, which 
will turn yellow in the month of November. When it does so cut it 
off, and cover the bed an inch or two deep w ith a mixture of wood 
ashes or other compost. Thus the beds wdll lie all the winter. In 
the spring, March, or early in April, move the tops of the beds with 
a fork, and carefully pick out all weeds that make their ap- 
pearance ; and then throw upon the beds earth about two inches 
deep from the alleys, making that earth very fine, and keeping the 
edges of the alleys very smooth and straight. The plants will now 
send Out several shoots from each crown, and, if kept clean during 
the summer, the haulm will attain the height of three feet. This 
year the plants will bear some seed ; but no notice is to be taken 
of that ; and, in the month of November, when the haulm becomes 
yellow, you cut it off again close to the ground, and lay on good. 



64 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



well-prepared compost, partly consisting of rotten dung, to the 
depth of two inches or a little more. In the spring, in March, 
throw upon the beds three inches deep of earth out of the alleys. 
Break it very fine, and attend to keeping the sides of the bed very 
smooth and erect. This is the third year after sowing ; and if 
the ground be good in its nature, and if all these instructions 
be duly attended to, there will be some heads of asparagus fit to 
cut. The four beds will contain 588 stools or crowns ; and if you 
were to cut only four heads of asparagus from each crown, you 
would have above twenty hundred bundles of asparagus, a hundred 
in each bundle. However, unless the crowns be very strong, it 
would be best to wait another year ; and then, without cutting any 
but what would be very fine, you would have more than any family 
of reasonable size would want to consume. In the fall of this third 
year, cut down the haulm as before ; put on manure again as be- 
fore ; and, in the next spring, take another two and a half inches of 
earth out of the alleys and put on the beds, as before. The alleys 
will now be deep enough, and you need never throw any more earth 
upon the beds, except the shovellings up of what has fallen into them 
from the beds by washing or crumbling ; and this ought to be done 
every spring, in March. Every fall, the haulm ought to be cut off; 
and some little matter of manure, rather of a littery sort, scattered 
on ; and this ought to be forked up every spring, previous to the 
shovelling up of the alleys. One very great fault, in the manage- 
ment of asparagus beds, is to suffer the seed to drop and to remain 
on the beds. This seed will grow and become plants ; and, in a 
short time you have the bed all in confusion, young ones growing 
at the top, and old ones growing underneath. Therefore, the 
haulm ought to be cut off before the seed drops ; and if it should 
by accident drop in the cutting of the haulm, the seed ought to 
be swept carefully up with a broom and carried away. It is the 
practice of many persons, and of most persons, to sow lettuces 
onions, and radishes, upon asparagus beds, which are taken off 
before the haulm of the asparagus rises to anyc onsiderable height, 
but this is a very bad practice : these p'ants rob the asparagus, 
they prevent its due cultivatiokii ; and, in short, the injury to you 
as a gardener is much greater than its good. In the cutting of 
asparagus, great care must be taken to use a proper instrument, 
and to make the cut in a proper manner. The instrument is a 
knife made with teeth, like a saw, which ought to be put down 



ASPARAGUS. 



6,3 



close by the side of the shoot which you are going to cut off, and 
then you separate the shoot from the crown by a push almost per- 
pendicular ; for otherwise, you might destroy three or four shoots 
in the cutting off of one. Those shoots vvhich you do not cut off 
for the purpose of eating ai-e left to go on to become haulm, and 
these are cut down annually at the time and in the manner de- 
scribed. Such is the manner of raising asparagus from seed. The 
manner of- raising from plants is this : you sow the asparagus in 
March or April, in the same manner as described for the beds, in 
some other spot ; and, when the plants come up, you thin them 
carefully to the distance of about three inches apart, keeping them 
very clean all the summer. In October, or in March the next 
year, you make your beds as before ; and, instead of sowing seed 
in the three rows upon each bed, as before directed, plant these 
plants at a foot apart in these rows, p-acing their crowns about 
half an inch belo^v the top of the ground, and then covering 
the beds over an inch or two deep with good compost, or fine 
manure of some sort or other, having amongst it some salt, not 
too much, or a pretty good portion of wood-ashes. You then 
proceed with these beds, autumn and spring, precisely in the same 
way as with the beds of sown asparagus ; and you may, perhaps, 
have them fit to cut a year earlier ; and, if great care be taken, that 
will certainly be the case. The asparagus is so excellent a plant ; it 
is so good, and is so great a favourite, that it is one of the few 
garden plants that is vv orth the trouble and expense of a hot-bed, 
and particularly as the trouble which it gives is in an inverse 
proportion to its value. To have asparagus in hot beds, which 
you may have if you will, from November until the time that it 
comes in the open ground, this is the method : make a bed ac- 
cording to the rules laid down in Chapter III. The bed ought to 
be strong or weak, that is to say high or low, according to the 
season of the year. In November, for instance, you want but little 
heat : in January and February a great deal : less in ]SIarch, and 
scarcely any in April. To have the plants, make'a bed the rows 
on which should be seven inches apart, and the plants six inches 
apart in the row. Fill this bed v;ith plants that have stood one 
year elsewhere in the manner before-mentioned. Let them stand 
two years in this bed, and be managed there just in the same 
manner as if they were going to stand there for ever. At the end of 
these two years, as soon as the I aulm turns yellow, the plants will 

F 



66 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



be fit to take up to put into hot-beds. When you have made your 
bed, and the heat is sufficiently up, put good earth upon it four 
inches deep or thereabouts. Thea take up the plants, or, rather 
the crowns from their bed, and place them upon the earth in the 
hot-bed, as near together as they can conveniently stand. Take 
care that the crowns are all of the same height in the hot-bed, ..and 
bring them from the garden beds with their balls of earth to them, 
and their roots as little torn as possible. When you have the 
crowns all neatly and evenly arranged upon the beds, fill all the 
interstices between them with line earth, give the whole a gentle 
watering, and then cover the crowns over with fine earth six inches 
deep. If the bed be a pretty strong one, and, if you give air judi- 
ciously, and keep frosts effectually out, you may cut asparagus in 
twenty days from the time that you put the crowns into the bed ; 
but you must be watchful to give as much air as the season will 
permit, otherwise the asparagus will be spindling, will be of a pale 
colour, and will have very little taste. It may so happen that, 
when you are ready to put your asparagus into the bed, the crowns 
may be locked up from you by frost. To be prepared for this, put, 
in due time, more litter, or straw, upon your stock of crowns than 
the frost can penetrate through. If you wish to have but one hot- 
bed of asparagus every year, your annual provision of crowns will, 
of course, be accordingly. These crowns will give you, in the hot- 
bed, asparagus for a month or six weeks : and that too, if you please^ 
in January or February. When they have borne their crop, they 
are of no more use, and will of course, be flung away ; but they 
are worth the trouble, and I know of nothing more sure to be 
attended with success. If the weather should prove very severe 
while the crowns are in the bed, not only thick coverings, but linings, 
must be resorted to, and these you will find fully described under the 
head of Cucumber. As to the sorts of asparagus of which some 
people talk, I, for my part, could never discover any difference ; 
some talk of red-topped and some of green-topped ; but I am 
convinced that all the difference that there is is to be traced to 
the soil, the climate, and the culture. 

122. BALM. — This is a herb purely medicinal. A very little of 
it is sufficient in any garden. It is propagated from seed, or from 
offsets. When once planted, the only care required is to see that 
it does not extend itself too widely. 

123. BASIL is a very sweet annual pot-herb, beingof two sorts. 



BASIL, BEAN. 



67 



the dwarf aud the tall. It should be sowed in very fine earth early 
ill the spring, and transplanted into earth equally line, with very 
great care. But let me here speak of the place for herbs in gene- 
ral. They should all be collected together in one spot, if possible. 
The best form is a long bed, with an alley on each side of it, the 
bed too narrow to need trampling in order to reach the middle of 
it. The herbs should stand in rows made across this bed, the 
quantity of each being in due proportion to the consumption of the 
family ; for it is a mark of great want of judgment to occupy great 
spaces of ground with things that can be of no possible use. We 
often see, in a gentleman^s garden, as much parsley growing as 
would be sufificient for the supply of a large countiy town ; and, as 
to mint, I have often seen it covering several rods of ground, when 
the sensible original intention was that it should be confined \\ ithin 
the space of a couple of square yards. ]SIint, however, forms an 
exception to what has just been said about collecting the herbs to- 
gether in one place ; for its encroachments are such that it must 
be banished to some spot where those encroachments can occa- 
sionally be restricted by the operation of the spade. 

124. BE AX. — Bean is the name given to two plants having 
very little resemblance to each other in almost any respect. In 
the French language, they have two different names wholly dissimi- 
lar to each other. That sort which we call our bean, and which is 
an upright plant, rising very high, producing a very large seed, 
and is called garden-bean or horse-bean, that species the French 
call feve ; that species which we call kidney-bean (because the seed 
is exactly in the shape of a kidney), or French-bean, because, I 
suppose, it came originally from France, the French call haricot ; 
w-hich latter name has given rise to an application of it, verv cu- 
rious, but quite congenial to the turn of mind and taste of those by 
whom it has been adopted. Thus, we see a dish of stewed mut- 
ton made richer than its own means would afford by all manner 
of ingredients, called a haricot of mutton ; whereas the French 
mean by a haricot of mutton a dish full of haricots or beans, with a 
little morsel of mutton stewed along with them. The English bean, 
which is that that we have now to speak of, has several varieties, 
the favourite among which is the broad bean, or Windsor bean. 
The long-pod is the next best, though there are several others of 
nearly the same form, size, and quality. But there is one bean, 
which is called the ^l/r/;:*?^^//?/?, ^^hich conies earlier than the rest, 

F C 



68 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS, 



[chap. 



and wliich, on 'that account, is justly esteemed by those who like 
this sort of vegetable, which, I must confess, I do not. All this 
tribe of beans thrive best in moist and stiffish ground ; but, if we 
desire to have them early, we must sow them early ; and, near a 
wall, facing to the south, they may be sowed in November and 
even in October ; and, if kept earthed up pretty nearly to their 
tops, and in very sharp weather, covered from the frost, they will 
stand the winter pretty well ; and will be a little earlier than those 
which are sowed in the latter end of February or beginning of 
March. Another way to have these early beans is to sow a small 
patch, and to let them come up within an inch of one another. 
Standing thus upon a small piece of ground, they are easily pro- 
tected in sharp weather ; and are ready to be removed, by trans- 
planting in the first mild weather in March ; but even then they 
should go into the warmest part of the garden. Another sowing, 
even of these, should take place in the latter end of February, or 
very early in March : which is the time also for sowing the Wind- 
sor bean, the long-pod, and all the other varieties. Of the Wind- 
sor bean and the long-pod another sowing should take place in 
April, and in every month until July ; that is to say, if the family 
like them. The sowings ought to be of small extent, however, for 
the crop is large, and the plant, when it has shed its blossoms, is 
no great beauty, though exceeding almost all others in the sweet- 
ness of its fiower. Mice are great enemies of beans, or more pro- 
perly speaking, they love them too much, as the cannibal said of his 
fellow creatures. This love, however, sometimes proves extremely 
inconvenient to the bean-planter ; and, therefore, these gentry must 
be kept down, which they easily are, however, by brick-traps, 
w hich gardeners know very well how to set. The depth at w hich 
the larger beans are sowed is about three inches, and the smaller 
ones about two inches and a half ; but, in every case, all the earth 
drawn out of the drill should be put in again upon the beans, and 
trodden down upon them with the v;hole w'eight of the body 
of a stout man ; for the more closely they are pressed into the 
ground, and the ground is pressed upon them, the more certainly 
and the more vigorously will they grow ; and the more difficult 
too, will it be for the mice to displace them. 

1 24. BEAN (KIDNEY), which the French call HAPtlCOT.— 
The varieties here are perfectly endless ; but there are two distinct 
descriptions of the kidney bean, dwarfs, and climhers. The mode 



KIDNEY-BEANS. 



69 



however, of propagating and cultivating is the same in both cases, 
except that the dwarfs require smaller distances than the climbers, 
and that the latter are grown with the assistance of poles, which 
the former are not. This is a plant, very different, indeed, in its 
nature, from the f eve, or English bean : it is a native of a warm 
climate ; very sensible of frost, and only one degree more hardy 
than the cucumber, and not at all more hardy than the squash. 
The very slightest frost checks the growth of the plant and changes 
the colour of the leaves ; and the leaves are absolutely scorched 
up by frosts not sufficient to produce ice any thicker than gauze ; 
so that we have here a summer plant, to all intents and pur- 
poses ; a plant that must be cultivated under cover of some sort 
except at times when there is a complete absence of frost. The 
general time for sowing kidney-beans, in ground quite open when 
there is no shelter of any sort, and where covering is wholly im- 
practicable, is the first of May. I beg the reader to bear this in 
mind ; I have tried the thing often enough ; nine times out of ten 
earlier sowing does no good ; and even sowing at this time has 
frequently been found too early. I have had my kidney beans all 
cut off in the month of June ; and, therefore if crop be the 
object, the first week in May is quite early enough, especially for 
the climbers. But, people wish to have some small portion, at 
any rate, of so capital a vegetable as early as they possibly can. 
Those who have the means have them all the winter in hot 
houses ; but a hot-bed or hot-beds are insufficient for such a pur- 
pose. In our case, therefore, we must be content with the south 
face of a wall, which, if made proper use of for this purpose, will 
produce beans from twelve to twenty days earlier than they can be 
had in perfectly open ground. A single row put in, two inches 
deep, close to the wall, the beans at about three inches apart in 
the row, about the tenth of April, and earthed up to the seed leaf 
as soon as they are above ground, and kept carefully screened from 
frost every night by the leaning of a board or some other thing 
against the wail ; a single row of these beans, being also of the 
earliest sort, will, in the south of England, produce beans fit to 
gather in the last week of June ; while the same sort of beans 
sowed in the open ground, at the same time, will either rot in the 
ground and never come up ; or will, after coming up, be so injured 
by the weather as to be overtaken by beans sowed early in May, 
and will, after all, not produce a crop half so abundant. A good 



70 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



general time for sowing the first dwarf beans for a crop is the first 
of May ; to have a constant supply, you should sow on the first of 
every month, August inclusive. The climbing beans should be 
sowed about the 10th of May. The culture of beans is a very easy 
matter. For the dwarf sorts, you make drills two feet apart and 
two inches deep, lay the beans along at three inches asunder, lay 
the earth over them and tread it dow^n hard. As soon as they 
are up, which is very quickly, draw the earth from both sides (but 
not when it is wet) close up to the stems, quite as high as the bot- 
tom of the stem of the seed leaf, and then give all the ground a 
good deep hoeing. The dwarf beans want nothing more than this : 
they push on at a great rate ; they begin to show their blossoms 
in ten days, and, if the frosts keep away, you have beans in a very 
short time. Even while they are producing, you can, if you please, 
dig along the centre of the intervals, and there have another crop 
of beans ; or, if you like better, savoys, broccoli, or other things 
for the autumn or the winter. The beans are soon taken off, and 
your ground is ready for any succeeding crop. As to the climbers, 
they are sowed and cultivated in the same manner ; and they will, 
if you please, creep about upon the ground : but that is not the 
best way. They should be planted in a double row, same depth 
as the dwarf beans, and the two rows about six inches apart. 
Then there should be an interval between each two double rows 
of five or six feet ; they should be earthed up in the same man- 
ner as described for the dwarf beans, and, as soon as earthed up, 
the poles should be put to them. The poles ought to be about 
eight feet long, and there ought to be two rows of poles to every 
double row of beans, not placed upright, but diagonally ; and 
placed on the internal side of the beans. The poles on one side 
of the double row ought to point one way, and those on the other 
side the other way, forming together a sort of rough trellis work. 
Beans will go on climbing and bearing till they get to the top . There 
are two very distinct varieties of these climbers. One has a white 
seed, and has the perfect kidney shape, the pod is very long and 
perfectly smooth. This is called the Dutch runner, and is very 
highly esteemed. The other variety has a seed not so flat, of a 
black and red colour, it has a short pod, compared with the other, 
and that pod is rough, instead of being smooth, and the blossom is 
red, instead of being white, as in the case of the Dutch runner. 
But there is a white sort of this bean also, like the red-blossomed 



v.] KIDNEY-BEANS. 71 

bean in all other respects, but having a white seed and a white 
blossom. These are called rough runners, because the pod differs 
from that of other kidney-beans in being rough instead of smooth. 
These are most admirable plants : they bear prodigiously ; their 
product is, perhaps, the most delicate of all ; and, from the latter 
end of July, until the actual coming of the frosts, they continue 
to blow and to bear without the least relaxation, let the weather 
be as hot or as dry as it may. The Dutch-runner is not a very 
great bearer, and it gives out in a comparatively short space of 
time : it will, too, have good cultivation and favourable aspect ; 
whereas the rough runners will grow in the shade, will climb up 
hedges and trees, will suffer their stems to be smothered with 
weeds, and will continue to ornament whatever they cling to, and 
to produce in abundance at the same time. But there is one pre- 
caution applicable to all sorts of kidney-beans, which must be by 
no means neglected ; and that is, to take care that no pods be left 
upon the plant, to contain beans approaching to a state of matu- 
rity ; for, the moment there are such pods, they draw away all the 
strength of the plant to themselves, and it would produce no more 
pods fit for use. It is the same with the cucumber, suffer one 
cucumber to become large and yellow, and to begin to ripen its 
seed, and not another young cucumber will come upon the same 
plant. As to the sorts, or varieties, of dwarf beans, the yellow 
dwarf, that I have imported from America, I have found to be 
the earliest by several days, and also the greatest bearer. There 
is the black dwarf, which is deemed early also. The speckled 
dwarf is a great bearer, but not so early. The best way, probably, 
is to sow one row of each on the same day ; and though the dif- 
ference in the time of coming in may not be much, it may be some 
thing, and nothing ought to be neglected in the case of a vegeta- 
ble so universally and so justly esteemed. It is curious that the 
Americans should follow the example of the French with regard to 
the use of the produce of the kidney-bean. They eat them, as we 
do, in the pod ; or, rather, they eat the pod, as we do ; but they 
eat them more frequently in the bean itself, and that at two different 
stages, first, when it has got its full size in the pod, and when, to 
me, it appears a very nasty thing ; and second, they eat them as a 
winter vegetable : they soak them and boil them. The French do 
the same, and I can by no means discover that this was ever the 
practice in England. The seed of the kidney-bean may always be 



72 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



saved in England with great facility, if we would but take the pro- 
per means ; that is to say, forbear from eating the earliest pods. 
We ought always to set apart a row, or a piece of a row, for seed, 
and resolve never to touch it till the seed be ripe. This is hardly 
ever done : we keep eating on : above all things, we take the lirst : 
those that we save for seed are such as have had the good fortune 
to escape us, so that our seed of this important plant is generally 
very bad ; it is but half ripe, and a great deal of it rots as soon as 
it is put into the ground. If the seed of this plant be well ripened, 
it will keep good, if kept in the pod, for several years ; but if 
taken out of the pod, it cannot be relied on after the lirst year. It 
is always the best way to keep it in the pod until it be sown, if 
that be practicable. It continues to be nourished there, and nature 
has excluded it completely from the air. 

ICo. BEET. — Some people enumerate several varieties of the 
beet, and these of differe.it colours. There are but two cultivated 
in our gardens, and the great sign of their perfection is their deep 
blood colour, a deficiency in which respect is regarded as an 
imperfection. One of these is tap-rooted, like a carrot, and the 
other pretty nearly as much a bulb as the common garden turnip. 
The seed of the beet is a little, round, rough pod, thick and hard, 
and containing within it sometimes two, and sometimes three, black 
seeds. The pod is sowed, for it is impossible to get the seed 
out of it and to separate one from the other. To have fine beets, 
the ground should be dug very deeply and made very line. There 
ought to be no clods in it, especially for the tap-rooted beet ; for 
clods turn aside the tap-root and spoil the shape of the beet. No 
fresh dung, by any means ; for that causes side shoots to go out 
in search of it, and thereby makes the root forked instead of 
straight ; and, as in the case of carrots, a forked root is never 
considered to be a good one. The ground being well and 
deeply dug and broken, drills should be nicely made about two 
feet apart, and the seed laid along at the depth of about an 
inch and a half, and at about a couple of inches from each 
other. The earth that came out of the drill should be put back 
upon the seed, and should be pressed down upon it very hard, 
\vith the head of the rake, the foot of man being too rude for 
this purpose. When the plants come up, they should be thinned 
to about nme inches apart in the row : the ground should be 
nicely flat-hoe I and kept clean during the summer : in October the 



BROCCOLI. 



73 



roots should be taken up, the leaves cut off within a quarter of 
an inch of the crown, the roots put to dry in the sun for a week 
or more, and then put away in some dry place, or packed in 
sand like carrots for winter use. Beets may be transplanted, 
and will, in that way, get to a very good size, but they are apt 
to be forked. They should remain in the seed bed till about 
the size of a radish, such as we eat at the table, and be put in 
immediately in very fine earth, and they will do very well, though 
they will not be so smooth as those that are left to stand where 
they are sowed. 

126. BROCCOLI. — There are two distinct species or kinds of 
the broccoli ; the purple, and the white. There are, besides, a 
sort that is of a hidmstone colour, and another that is greenish ; 
but these only come from a mixture of the other two sorts. One 
of which is white, or, rather, cream colour, not so w hite as a 
cauliflower ; and the other is of a bright purple colour. Broccoli 
is eaten from about the beginning of November, to about the 
middle of April. The purple sort comes earliest : and the white 
is not generally in much perfection until about the middle of 
February. There is a purple sort which is called Cape broccoli, 
which comes earlier, I believe, than any of the other purple, 
this being a purple too. Gardeners talk of early broccoli seed, 
and of late : and doubtless, by dint of great care in saving seed 
from the earliest heads, the habit of early produce in the plants 
may be produced ; but, while I do not think there is much in 
this, it ought to be attended to when people go to purchase 
seed. The time for sowing the purple broccoli is about the ' 
beginning of April, if you wish to have it in the autumn and in 
the beginning of w inter ; and, if you wish to have it in the 
spring, the beginning of 3lay is a proper time to sow. Some- 
thing, however, depends upon the goodness, as well as the earli- 
ness, of the ground ; for, in good ground, especially if it be in a 
warm situation, you may venture to sow either earlier or later 
than the times here mentioned. The first week in May is quite 
time enough to sow the w hite broccoli ; for, if sowed earlier, 
it gets too much heat before the summer is over ; it begins to 
form a head or flower before the frost comes: and, if the head 
be only closely approaching towards outward appearance, sharp 
frost w ill destroy it : it will rot ; and, as this sort of broccoli 
never sends out sprouts from the side, you lose the produce 



74 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



altogether. Now^ as to the manner of sowing the seed, as to the 
manner of treating the plants after they are up, as to the man- 
ner of transplanting them where they are to stand to produce, and 
as to the cultivation while they are going on towards a state of 
producing, these are all the same as directed in the case of 
the Cabbage, under which head I shall give full and minute 
instructions relative to all these operations. But there is this 
difference between the cabbage and the broccoli, that the lat- 
ter, being a much larger plant than any of the garden cabbages, 
must have a greater space to grow in. The rows ought to be 
three feet apart, and the plants at two and a half feet apart, 
in the rows. The broccoli plants have long stems ; and, there- 
fore, the earth should be, at different times, during their 
growth, drawn up to them, not only for the purpose of keep- 
ing them upright, but for the purpose of nourishment also ; 
for roots will start out of the sides of the stem and commu- 
nicate great vigour to the plants. The same ought to be done, 
indeed, in the case of cabbages ; but with more care in the case 
of the broccoli. 

128. BRUSSELS SPROUTS.— The plant that has generally 
had this name given to it in England is a thing quite different from 
the real Brussels sprouts. This plant rises up with a very long 
stem, which has a spreading open head at the top, but which 
sends out from its sides great numbers of little cabbages, round and 
solid, each being of the bulk of a large walnut, and each being a 
perfect cabbage-head in itself. This little cabbage comes out just 
above the leaf which starts from the main stem, and it is in fact 
lodged in the socket of that leaf- and, as the leaves are numerous, 
there are frequently from thirty to fifty cabbages coming out of 
each stem. The large leaves are broken down in the month of 
August in order to give the little cabbages room to grow : and in 
November these begin to be in perfection, and continue to be an 
excellent vegetable all the winter. The time of sowing the seed is 
the fore-part of April. The treatment of the plants, until planted 
out, the same as that of the cabbage ; and the distances at which 
the plants ought to stand the same as those mentioned for the 
broccoli, these being also tall things, and requiring much room. 
]Much care is necessary in the saving of the seed of this plant, which, 
as I have observed before, has an open spreading crown at the top. 
If you mean to save seed, you must cut off this crown, and let the 



BURNET, CABBAGE. 



75 



seed-stems and flowers come out nowhere but from the Uttle cab- 
bages themselves. It is, most likely, owing to negligence in this 
respect that we hardly ever see such a thing as real Brussels sprouts 
in England ; and it is said that it is pretty nearly the same in 
France, the proper care being taken nowhere, apparently, but in 
the neighbourhood of Brussels. 

129. BURNET is a \ery well-known grass, or cattle-plant. 
Some persons use it in salads, for what reason I know not, except 
that, when cut or bruised, it smells like cucumber : its taste is cer- 
tainly most disagreeable : it appears to me to be of no use in a 
good garden : it is perennial, 'and, if curiosity should induce any 
one to have it in a garden, it can be propagated either from seed, 
or from a parting of the roots, and one square foot of ground will 
be certainly enough to let it have. 

ISO. CABBAGE. — Very different, indeed, is this article from 
the last ; for, here we have a plant, universally used, growing easily 
in almost every sort of soil, and forming part of the table supply, 
in one shape or another, from the first day in January to the last 
day of December. Under this head, therefore, I shall be very mi- 
nute in my instructions, more especially as the instructions under 
this head have been and will be so frequently referred to. First, 
of the manner of sowing. I will speak of the seed, and of the sorts 
and of the season for soN^dng by-and-by ; but let me first speak of 
the manner of sowing. This manner I have already described in 
great part in the fourth Chapter, where I speak of the drawing of 
drills across a seed-bed. Make a seed-bed of the extent that you 
want, and make the earth very fine : then mark it out in little 
drills. Drop the seed thinly along these drills, put the earth back 
upon the seed, and press it down very tightly upon it. When the 
seed comes up, which will be veiy thickly, thin the plants to an 
inch apart, or perhaps a little more ; and do not delay this work 
by any means ; for, small as the roots are, the plants injure one 
another if they stand crowded for even a short space of time w hile 
in the seed-leaf. At the same time that you thin the plants, hoe 
the ground all over very nicely with a small hoe, and particularly 
near the plants. When the plants have got four or six rough leaves, 
they will touch one another, and ought to be removed from the 
seed-bed. They are too small as yet to be transferred to the spot 
where they are to come to perfection ; but they ought now to be 
removed for the purposes presently to be mentioned. Prepare 



76 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



for the purpose a bed three feet wide, and as long as the number of 
your plants may require. Take up the plants with a trowel or a 
stick, or something that will heave up the earth, and prevent the 
breaking of the roots too much as they come out of the ground. 
Then, with a little sharp-pointed stick, replant them in this new 
bed at the distance of three or four inches apart every way. This 
is called pricking out. If you have more plants than you want, 
you throw away the small ones ; if you want all the plants that you 
have got, it is advisable to divide the lot into large and small, 
keeping each class by itself, in the work of pricking out ; so that 
when you come to transplant for the crop, your plants will be all 
nearly of the same size : that is to say, the large will not be mixed 
with the small ; and there is this further convenience, that the large 
ones may make one plantation and the small ones another. This 
work should be done, if possible, in dry weather, and in ground 
which has just been fresh dug. In a very short time, these plants 
will be big enough to go into their final plantation : they will come 
up with stout an i straight stems, without any tap-root, and so well 
furnished with fibres as to make them scarcely feel the effect of 
transplanting ; whereas, if you were to suffer them to stand in the 
seed-bed until large enough to be transplanted, they would come up 
with a long and naked tap-root, ungarnished with fibres, and would 
be much slower in their progress towards perfection, and would, in 
the end, never attain the size that they will attain by these means. 
The next operation is to put the plants out in a situation where 
they are to produce their crop. They are to stand in rows, of 
course ; and I will speak of distances by-and-by when I come to 
speak of the different sorts of cabbages. At present I am to speak 
only of the act of planting. The tool to be used is that which is 
called a setting-stick, which is the upper part of the handle of a 
spade or shovel. The eye of the spade is the handle of the stick. 
From the bottom of the eye to the point of the stick should be about 
nifie inches in length. The stick should not be tapering ; but 
nearly of equal thickness all the way down, to within an inch and 
a half of the point, where it must be tapered off to the point. If 
the wood be cut away all round, to the thickness of a dollar, and 
iron be put round in its stead, it makes a very complete tool. The 
iron becomes bright, and the earth does not adhere to it, as it does 
to wood. Having the plant in one hand, and the stick in the 
other, make a hole suitable to the root that it is to receive. Put 



CABBAGE. 



77 



in the root in such a way as that the earth, when pressed in, will 
be on a level w ith the butt-ends of the lower or outward leaves of 
the plant. Let the plant be rather higher than lower than this ; 
for care must be taken not to put the plants so low as for the earth 
to fall, or be washed, into the heart of the plant, nor even into the 
inside of the bottom leaves. The stem of a cabbage, and stems of 
all the cabbage kind, send out roots from all the parts of them that 
are put beneath the surface of the ground. It is good, therefore, 
to plant as deep as you can without injury to the leaves. The next 
consideration is the fastening of the plant in the ground. I can- 
not do better than repeat here, what I have said in my Year's Re- 
sidence, Paragraphs 83 and 84 : " The hole is made deeper than 
^' the length oi the roots ; but the root should not be hent at the 
" point, if it can be avoided. Then, while one hand holds the plant, 
with its root in the hole, the other hand applies the setting-stick 
to the earth on one side of the hole, the stick being held in such 
a way as to form a sharp triangle with the plant. Then, push- 
" ing the stick down, so that its point go a little deeper than the 
point of the root, and giving it a little twist, it presses the earth 
against the point, or bottom of the root." And thus all is safe 
and the plant is sure to grow. The general and almost universal 
fault is that the planter, when he has put the root into the hole, 
draws the earth up against the upper part of the root, and, if he 
press pretty w^ell there, he thinks that the planting is well done. 
But it is the point of the root against which the earth ought to be 
pressed, for there the fibres are ; and, if they do not touch the earth 
closely, the plant will not thrive. To know whether you have fast- 
ened the plat well in the ground, take the tip of one of the leaves 
of the plant between your finger and thumb. Give a pull. If the 
plant resist the pull, so far as for the bit of leaf to come away, the 
plant is properly fastened in the ground ; but if the pull bring up 
the plant, then you may be sure that the planting is not well done. 
The point of the stick ought to twist and press the earth up close 
to tkve point of the root ; so that there be no hollow there. Press- 
ing the earth up against the stem of the plant is of little use. As 
to distances, they must be proportioned to the size which the cab- 
bages usually come to ; and the size (difference in soil aside) varies 
with the sort. However, for the very small sorts, such as the earlg 
dwarf and early sea-green, a foot apart in all directions is enough ; 
for there is no occasion to waste garden ground ; and you do not want 



78 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



such things to stand long, and the plants are in plenty as to number. 
The next size is the early York, which may have sixteen inches every 
way. The sugar-loaf may have twenty inches. The Batter sea and 
Savoy two feet and a half. The large sorts, as the drum-head and 
others, three feet at least, — Now, with regard to tillage, keep the 
ground clear of weeds. But, whether there be weeds or not, hoe 
between the plants in ten days after they are planted. You cannot 
dig between the plants which stand at the smallest distances ; but 
you may, and ought, to dig once, if not twice, during their growth, 
between all the rest. To prevent a sudden check by breaking all 
the roots at once, in hot weather, dig every other interval, leave 
the rest, and dig them a week later. All the larger sorts of cab- 
bages should, about the time that their heads are beginning to 
form, be earthed up ; that is, have the earth from the surface 
drawn up against the stem ; and the taller the plants are, the 
more necessary this is, and the higher should the earth be drawn. 
After the earth has been thus drawn up from the surface, dig, or 
hoe deep, the rest of the ground. — Thus the crop will be brought to 
perfection. — As to sorts, the earliest is the early dwarf ; the next 
is the early sea-green ; then comes the early York. Perhaps any 
one of them may do ; but the first will head ten days sooner than 
the last. The greatest thing belonging to cabbages is to have 
heads, loaved and white, to cut early in the spring ; and these you 
cannot have unless you sow the seed in the last week of July or 
first week of August ; and unless that seed be of the early sort and 
true. The manner of sowing seed and of pricking out has already 
been described. The plants should be put out into rows of two 
feet apart, and about fifteen inches apart in the row ; and this work 
should be done about the latter end of October. If, however, the 
season have brought the plants very forward, they may go out a 
little before ; but, if the weather prove very mild, it is a very good 
way to dig them up and plant them again immediately, each in its 
own place, about the middle of November ; for, if they get too 
forward, they will be either greatly injured by a sharp winter, or 
will, by a mild winter, be made to run up to seed in the spring, 
instead of having heads ; but, if the seed have been well saved, 
there is very little danger of their running ; perhaps not a hundred 
on an acre. It is the method of saving the seed that is the all-in- 
all in this case. There are some who save the seed of cabbages 
that have run. This is a marvelously easy and lazy way, and will 



CABBAGE. 



79 



give you seed a twelvemonth sooner than you can have it by taking 
the trouble to select and put out the stumps of the best cabbages, 
and taking care of them during the ensuing winter. I have known 
seed thus saved to degenerate so much as to give w^hole acres 
with scarcely a plant that has not run off to seed in the spring, 
instead of producing loaved heads ! Never save seed of any of 
this tribe from plants that have run ; for it is pretty sure to 
lead to rubbish and disappointment. Where it can be done con- 
veniently, it is best to save a considerable quantity of cabbage- 
seed at a time ; even some hundreds of stumps, as it is then less 
liable to be spoiled by the blossoming of other plants of the cab- 
bage kind. In general, in the south of England, these cabbages, 
if properly treated, and of a right early sort, will have good white 
loaves early in April, or, at latest, by the middle of April. These 
are succeeded by others sowed early in the spring ; especially by 
the sugar-loaf, which, if sowed in the spring, will produce fine 
heads in the months of July, August, and September, and some 
sow ed a little later will carry you through to the month of No- 
vember. Early Yorks sowed in June will follow these. For win- 
ter use there really needs nothing but the savoy, and the dwarf 
green is the best of that kind. When true to its kind, it is very 
much curled, and of a very deep green. It should be sowed about 
the middle of April, pricked out in the manner before described, 
but at larger distances, because it is a larger plant, and because it 
ought to acquire a good size of stem before it goes out into the 
ground, the time for final planting being in the hot month of July, 
and the distances being more extensive than those of the smaller 
cabbages. Some savoys, sowed about a month after the main 
crop, and planted out six weeks later than the main crop, will 
give you greens in the winter, far preferable to any cale. Early 
cabbages also, sowed and put out about the same time, and 
planted in rows very close to each other, afford greens all the 
winter long. By November, the green savoys, first planted out, 
will have large and close heads. The drum-heads, and other 
large cabbages, are wholly unfit for a garden. The red cabbage 
is raised and cultivated in the same manner as the early cabbages. 
It is put out in the fall of the year : but it is large, and must have 
the same distances as broccoli. They form their heads in the 
early part of the summer, and are hard, and fit for pickling, to- 
wards the end of it. There remains now to speak of the manner 



80 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



of saving cabbage-seed, which is a matter of great importance, 
because the trueness of the seed is a circumstance on which de- 
pend the eailiness and goodness of the plant. The cabbage is a 
biennial. When it makes its loaf in the summer, you cut the loaf 
off in a sloping cut. The plant will then throw out side-shoots ; 
but, in a month after cutting the head, the stump should be taken 
up and laid by the heels, which will check the growing of the 
sprouts. In the month of November these stumps should be put 
out into rows where they are to stand for seed. There should be 
two rows, about eight inches from each other, the stumps in one 
row being opposite the intervals of the other row ; and then there 
should be an interval of five feet between the rows, in order to 
give you a c!ear passage for putting stakes and rods to hold up 
the seed-branches ; and, also, for the purpose of going freely into 
the plantation to keep off the birds, many of which are great pur- 
loiners of cabbage-seed. When the seed-pods begin to turn 
brown, cut the stems off close to the ground, and place them upon 
a cloth in the sun. When perfectly dry, thrash out the seed ; 
put it by, and keep it in a dry place. The ground where the seed 
is grown should be kept perfectly clean. The stems of the plants 
should be hilled up in the same manner as directed for a crop of 
cabbages ; and the whole of the ground in the intervals should be 
dug in the month of March, an operation that will add greatly to 
the crop of seed. For a garden, two or three plants are sufficient ; 
but great care should be taken that they stand not near to any 
thing of the cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower kind that is in 
bloom at the same time. 

131 . CALABASH.^ — This is a species of crooked squash, good 
for nothing as food, but is a very curious thing, having a large and 
long shell, small in one part and big in the other, and, when the 
big part is scooped out, becomes a ladle with a long handle to it. 
A thing very well worth growing for the curiosity, and grown in 
exactly the same manner as the squash. 

132. CALE or KALE. — By some called Borecole. This is a 
species of cabbage which is used in winter only. It does not head, 
or loave, but sends forth a loose open top and numerous side- 
shoots, particularly after the top is taken off. It is a very hardy 
plant, resists all frosts ; but it is at the same time but a coarse sort 
of thing. It is to be sowed in the month of April, the plants 
treated the same way as those of the cabbage ; the distances at 



CALE (sea). 



81 



which it is finally planted about two feet each way. There are 
two sorts, one a bright green, and the leaf very much curled, and 
the other of a reddish brown colour, and not curled at all. The 
green is generally thought the best ; but as the green savoy will 
stand the weather, if sowed rather later in the year than mentioned 
under the head of Cabbage, full as well as the Cale will, there 
reall^ seems to be very little reason for troubling one's self with 
this very coarse vegetable ; for it is ridiculous to seek a variety in 
getting bad things to take their turn with good. 

133. CALE (SEA). — This is a p'ant which is a native of the 
sea-beach : it is, in fact, sea-cabbage. It has a bloom not much 
unlike that of the cabbage, a seed also, only larger : the leaf 
strongly resembles the cabbage-leaf; but this is a perennial, 
whereas all the cabbage kinds are biennials. This plant soon 
gets to have a large stem or stool, like the asparagus, out of which 
the shoots come every spring. These stools are covered over 
pretty deep with sand or coal-ashes, or some such thing, and 
sometimes with straw or leaves ; and the shoots, coming up under 
the ashes or sand or earth, are bleached, until they come to the 
air, and these shoots are cut off and are applied for table use, just 
after the manner of the asparagus ; and though, in point of good- 
ness, they are not to be put in comparison with the asparagus, they 
come a month earlier in the spring, and for that reason they are 
cultivated. They are propagated by seed, and also by offsets. 
The mode of sowing and of planting may be precisely the same in 
all respects as those directed for the asparagus, except that you 
may begin to cat the ca^e for eating the second year. You cut 
down the stalks in the fall of the year just in the same manner as 
you cut down those of the asparagus ; and the treatment all 
through may be just the same, except that there may be a greater 
depth of ashes or of sand over the cale than of earth or manure 
over the asparagus. While you can have asparagus in a hot-bed, 
it can hardly be worth while to have the cale in that way ; but 
if you chose to do it, you might, and the method is the same, 
except that the covering in the bed must be deeper for the cale 
than for the asparagus. Gardeners sometimes, after having co- 
vered the crowns well over with sand or ashes, or some othe'' 
thing, cover the point of each crown with a large fiower-pot, which 
keeping the sun and air from the shoots, these are bleached even 
after they come up above the ashes or the sand. This appears to 

G 



82 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



■[chap. 



be a very good way ; for it saves the trouble of putting on litter or 
leaves, which are very ugly things in a garden. 

134. CAMOMILE is a perennial medicinal herb of great use. 
It may be propagated from seed, but it is most easily propagated 
by parting the roots. One little bit of root will soon make a bed 
sufficient for a garden. The flowers which are used in medicine 
should be gathered before they begin to fade, and at a time %hen 
they are perfectly dry ; and then put into a shady and airy place 
to dry, which they will do perfectly, but not in less than a month 
When perfectly dry, they should be put into a paper bag, hung up 
in a dry place, and kept from all dust. 

135. CAPSICUM. — This is a plant of a hot country. It is 
sowed in the natural ground of the United States of America, 
thouoh it is a native of countries which are never cold. The seed 
is, in this country, sowed in a gentle hot-bed, in the month of 
March. In the middle of April they may be moved out, and plantea 
under a warm wall, so as to be covered by a frame and lights, or 
by hand-glasses, and so as to have air given them in the warm 
part of the day. When no more frost is to be expected, and 
when the general earth becomes warm, that is to say about the 
third week in June, the plants, very carefully taken up, and with 
the earth not much shaken off from their roots, should be 
transplanted in a bed of fine rich earth ; but still in a warm part 
of the garden. The bed should have hoops placed over it ; the 
plants should be shaded by mats every day for about a week, if the 
sun be hot ; and if the nights be very cold afterwards, the beds 
should have a little shelter in the night for a fortnight or three 
weeks. To cause your plants to be very stocky and strong, take 
them when in rough leaf, and prick them out on a gentle heat, or 
even, if in small quantity, pot them singly, and plant them out 
when you find them strong and the weather hot. In this manner 
one plant will bear more fruit than a dozen little spindling ones. 
The plants will be in bloom in J uly, and, in the month of Octo- 
ber, their pods, which have a strong peppery taste, would be fit 
to gather for pickling. There are several sorts of the capsicum, 
some with red pods, some with green ones ; I do not know which 
is the best in quality ; and a very small quantity of these plants 
will suffice for any family. 

136. CARAWAY is cultivated for its seeds, which are used in 
cakes, and for some other purposes. Sow the seed in the spring, 



CARROT. 1 



83 



about the first of April, and leave the plants at about seven or eight 
inches apart in every direction. A small quantity of this plant 
will be sufficient, as it is not a thing in very general request. 

137. CARROT.— Read the article Beet ; for the same soil, the 
same manure, the same preparation for sowing, the same distances, 
the same intercultivation, the same time of taking up, and the same 
mode of preserving the crop, all belong to the carrot ; but the 
carrot ought to be sowed as soon as possible after the coming of 
mild weather in the spring ; and great care must be taken to watch 
the coming up of the plants ; for there are several kinds of weeds, 
the seed-leaves of which are so much like those of the carrot that 
It requires long experience and attentive observation to distinguish 
one from the other. Carrot-seed lies long in the ground ; and, 
therefore, the seeds of innumerable weeds are up long enough 
before it. Great care must therefore be taken to keep down these 
weeds in time without destroying the carrots ; and it is next to 
impossible to do this, unless you sow the carrots in rows : no fresh 
dung should be put into the ground where carrots are sowed, for 
that would be sure to bring abundance of seed weeds. To save 
carrot-seed, as well as beet-seed, you must take som.e of the last 
year's plants, and put them out early in the spring. When the seed 
is ripe, the best way is, with regard to the carrot, to cut off the 
whole stalk, hang it up in a very dry place, and there let it remain 
until you want the seed to sow. Kept in this way, it will grow 
very well at the end of three or four years ; but, if separated from 
the stalk, it will not keep well for more than one year. There is 
some care necessary in the sowing of carrot-seed, which it is diffi- 
cult to scatter properly along the drill on account of the numerous 
hairs which come out of the seed, and make them hang to one 
another. The best way is, to take some sand, or ashes, or very 
fine dry dust, and put a pint of it to a pint of seed, rubbing both to- 
gether by your hands. This brings off the hairs from the seeds, and 
separates them from each other, and then they may be very nicely 
and evenly sowed along the drills. There ought to be no digging 
between carrots, beets, or any other tap-rooted vegetables ; be- 
cause the moving of the earth in the intervals invites the fibres to 
grow large, and to become forks : deep cultivation is wrong here, 
for the very same reason that it is generally good. Carrots are 
sometimes raised in hot-beds ; but I shall speak of this under the 
head of radishes. 

G 2 



84 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



138. CAULIFLOWER.—The cauliflower is, in fact, one sort 
of cabbage, and the French cali it Choufleur, or flower-cabbage. 
Its product, as a vegetable to eat, is a lump of rich pulp, instead 
of being a parcel of leaves folding in towards a centre, and lapping 
over each other. There is this distinction besides, that it is an 
annual, instead of being a biennial. The head or flower, as it is 
called, sprouts off" into real flower-stalk ; flowers come upon these 
stalks ; seed-pods aad seed follow the flowers, and thep'ant bears 
seed within twelve months after it is sown. As much care as 
possible should be taken in obtaining good and true seed, which, 
as it is always pretty dear, is apt to be adulterated. Some per- 
sons have talked of an early sort and a late sort ; but I believe 
there is but one. The manner of sowing the seed, and of thin- 
ning out the young plants in the rows, is precisely that of the cab- 
bage. The season of sowing for cauliflowers to be eaten in the 
spring, is about the middle of the month of August. To guard 
against the effects of the diff'erence in seasons, the best way would 
be, perhaps, to make three sowings, one on the flrst of August, 
one on the fifteenth of August, and one on the 3 1 st, for the day 
which would be the proper day in one year would not be the pro- 
per day in another. When the plants are of the same size as the 
cabbage plants have been directed to be before pricked out, they 
should be pricked out also ; but in a more careful and regulal 
manner than was thought necessary in the case of the cabbage- 
plants. The spot should be one of the warmest in the garden ; 
and it should not be^a wet spot by any means. The cauliflower 
is a tender plant, and, in severe weather, will want covermsf Oi 
some sort, and, to say the truth, it is almost useless to attempt to 
rear them unless you have glass to put them under in very severe 
weather. They should be pricked out, therefore, in such manner 
as to allow of frames or hand-glasses being placed over them. 
They should not be covered, however, until the weather demand 
it, and, in the meanwhile, you should hoe nicely between them 
very frequently, and, by that means, keep the earth as dry about 
their stems as the season will permit. In very severe weather 
they must be covered ; but never any longer than is absolutely 
necessary; for, too much covering, and too much deprivation of 
air, make them weak and disqualify them for bearing. From these 
beds, you may plant them out in rows like cabbages, only at a 
little greater distances, and, taking care to move a little earth 



CAULIFLOWER. 



85 



along with them, about the middle of March ; and, in those rows, 
give them good cultivation, and earth them up in the manner 
directed for the broccoli. But greater pains than this is gene- 
rally taken ; for, in the month of November (not later than the 
1 5th), they are generally put out in clumps of three, four, five, or 
six in a clump, and there stand the winter, covered by hand-glasses, 
or bell-glasses, which are taken off when the weather is fine, and 
raised up at the bottom by the means of bricks, to prevent a draw- 
ing up of the plants. Towards spring, that is to say in the 
month of March, the weakest of the plants in each clump are 
taken up and planted elsewhere, and the glasses are continued to 
be put over the other plants, and to be raised higher and higher at 
the bottom according to the season and state of the weather. At 
last, the plants become too big for the glasses, and the weather 
too warm for any covering to be required. The glasses are then 
wholly taken away, and the plants are left to produce their heads. 
As the dry weather approaches, the earth is drawn round the 
clomps so as to form a dish for each ; and, when the heads begin 
to appear, it is the practice to pour water into these dishes. If 
the ground be very rich, this watering is certainly unnecessary ; 
but the earth should be very frequently moved round the stems of 
the plants, and, as the intervals ought to be not less than five feet 
wide, a good and clean digging of those intervals ought to take 
place in the month of April. This would probably prevent the 
necessity of watering, in ail cases ; and I am disposed to recom- 
mend it, being of opinion that it would be more efficacious for the 
purpose intended. Cauliflowers begin to have good heads in the 
m )nth of May ; sometimes earlier and sometimes later, according 
to the season ; and, in their commencement, as well as in their 
duration, they are the formidable rivals of green peas. To have 
cauliflowers in the autumn, you must sow early in the month of 
March, in a hot-bed of no very great heat ; and to which a great 
deal of air should be given ; these plants should be pricked out in 
April, in the manner before directed, and planted out in rows 
when they attain the proper size ; that is to say, when they be- 
come strong and bold plants. To have this vegetable very late in 
the fall, and even in December, sow in the open ground, in the 
first week in May : prick out and plant out as directed in the last 
instance. If no hard frosts come early, these will have tolerable 
heads in the month of November, and then, if there be some of 



86 



KITCHEN GARDEN PLANTS, 



[chap. 



them with very small heads, no bigger than a crown piece, you 
may, by taking the plants up, and putting their roots in sand in a 
shed or cellar, have some tolerably good cauliflowers at Christmas. 
I, having endeavoured one year to raise cauliflowers in Pennsylvania, 
where they will not flower in summer on account of the excessive 
heat, which continually keeps the heart open and prevents the head 
from coming up, took my plants, in the month of November, when 
their heads w^ere just beginning to appear, and buried them in the 
garden, according to the fashion of that country, observed in the 
burying of cabbages ; that is to say, to place the cabbages along in 
a row, close to each other, the head upon the level ground, and 
the roots standing up in the air, and then to go on each side with 
a spade, and throw up earth in such a manner as completely to 
cover the heads and the leaves of the cabbages. Indeed, my cauli- 
flowers went into the ground in company with some cabbages ; 
and, to my great surprise, when we took up the part of the stock 
in which the cauliflowers were, the greater part of them had heads 
as big as an ordinary tea-cup. But this method would not do in 
England ; for we have wet as well as frost ; and, in Pennsylvania, 
when once the earth is safely locked up by the frost, there comes 
no wet to sink into little ridges such as I have described. 1 think, 
however, that, if hung up by the heels in a barn or a shed in No- 
vember, cauliflowers would augment their size as much as if put 
into sand in a cave. If you attempt to save cauliflower-seed, no 
pains that you can take would possibly be too great. First look 
over your stock of heads : you will see some of them less compact 
than the others : more uneven, and more loose : round the edges 
of the heads, you will see almost perfect smoothness in some, and, 
in others, you will see a little sort of fringe appearing even before 
the head comes to its full bigness ; and these heads, which are not 
so compact as the others, will be less white, and drawing towards 
a cream colour. Now observe, it is the compact, the smooth, the 
white, head, of which you ought to save the seed ; and, though it 
will bear much less seed than a loose head, it will be good : you 
can rely upon it ; and that is more than you can upon any seed 
that you purchase, though it come from Italy, whence this fine 
vegetable originally came. There remains to notice only that 
the sun is apt to scorch the heads of cauliflowers, and to make 
them of a brownish hue, which prepares them for rotting if much 
wet afterwards come upon them. To protect them from this. 



CELERY. 



87 



bend and break down a couple of the large outer leaves, which will 
be protection against both sun and wet while the head is arriving 
at maturity. 

139. CELERY. — There are three sorts of celery, ihe white, the 
red, and the solid. The bottoms of the leaves of the two former 
become hollow ; that is to say, of the outside leaves ; and it is de- 
sirable that the part which is eaten should not be very hollow ; 
but the solid celery is, by no means, of so fine a flavour as the 
other. The red is hardier than either of the other two ; and, like 
most other hardy things, it is not so good as the more tender. It 
is too strong ; and has a smell and taste somewhat approaching 
to the hemlock. Celery is a winter plant ; but, as its seed lies 
very long in the ground, it ought to be sowed early. It is difficult 
to make come up ; and, though it might do very well to sow it in 
a warm place in the month of March, the easiest way is to sow it 
upon a little bit of a hot-bed, though not on a greater extent of 
ground than might be covered with a hand-glass ; and that space 
will contain a sufficiency of plants for any garden however large. 
The plants come up very much like parsley, and, when small, are 
hardly distinguished from young parsley plants. As soon as they 
have two rough leaves, the glass may be taken off, and they may 
be exposed to the air. About six trenches of celery, running across 
one of the plants, from north to south, would give about 6OO roots ; 
and as it is not in use for much more than about a hundred days 
of the year, here would be six roots for every day, which is much 
more than any family could want. When the plants get to have 
about four or five rough leaves, they ought to be pricked out upon 
a little bed of very fine earth, by the means of a little pointed stick ; 
and they ought to stand in that bed at about four inches apart, 
having their roots nicely and closely pressed into the ground. This 
operation would take place by the middle of May, perhaps, and 
here the plants would attain a considerable size by the month of 
July, which, a little earlier or a little later, is the time for putting 
them out into trenches. Knowing the number of plants that you 
would want, you need prick out no more than that number ; but 
if you were to put out a thousand instead of six hundred, you 
might have some to give to a neighbour whose sowing might hap- 
pen to have failed ; and this, observe, is a thing by no means to be 
overlooked ; for you will be a lucky gardener, indeed, if you never 
stand in need of like assistance from others ; and this is one of 



88 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



the great pleasures of gardening, that one has ahnost always some- 
thing to give away from one's superabundance ; and here the gift 
^s accompanied with no ostentation on the one side, and without it 
being deemed any favour on the other side. Your plants being 
ready, about the middle of July, perhaps, make the trenches a foot 
deep and a foot wide, and put them at not less than Jive feet asun- 
der. The ground that you make the trenches in should not be fresh 
dug, but be in a solid state, which very conveniently may be ; for 
celery comes on just as the peas and early cabbages and cauliflowers 
have gone off. Lay the earth that you take out in the middle of 
the space between the trenches, so that it may not be washed into 
them by the heavy rains ; for it will, in such case, cover the hearts 
of the plants, and will go very nearly to destroy them. When you 
have made your trench, put along it some good rich compost ma- 
nure, partly consisting of wood ashes. Not dung ; or at least not 
dung fresh from the yard ; for if you use that, the celery will be 
rank and^zpy, and will not keep nearly so long or so well. Dig 
this manure in, and break all the earth very fine as you go. Then 
take up your plants, and trim off the long roots. You find 
that every plant has offsets to it, coming up by the side of the main 
stem. Pull all these off, and leave only the single stem. Cut the 
leaves off so as to leave the whole plant about six inches long. 
Plant them six inches apart, and fix them, in the manner so mi- 
nutely dwelt on under the article Cabbage, keeping, as you are at 
w^ork, your feet close to the outside edges of the trench. Do not 
icater the plants; and if you plant m fresh-dug ground, and fix 
your plants well, none of the troublesome and cumbrous business 
of shading is at all necessary ; for the plant is naturally hardy, and 
if it has heat to wither it above, it has also that heat beneath to 
cause its roots to strike out almost instantly. When the plants 
begin to grow, which they quickly wdll do, hoe on each side and 
between them with a small hoe. As they grow up, earth their 
stems ; that is, put the earth up to them, but not too much at a 
time ; and let the earth that vou put up be finely broken, and not 
at ail cloddy. While you do this, keep the stalks of the outside 
leaves close up to prevent the earth from getting between the stems 
of the outside leaves and the inner ones ; for, if it get there, it checks 
the plant and makes the celery bad. WHien you begin the earthing, 
take first the edges of the trenches ; and do not go into the middle 
of the intervals for the earth that you took out of the trenches. 



v.] 



CELERY, CHERVIL. 



89 



Keep working backwards, time after time, that is earthing after 
earthing, till you come to the earth that you dug out of the trenches ; 
and by this time, the earth against the plants will be above the 
level of the land. Then you take the earth out of the middle, till 
at last the earth against the plants forms aridgey and the middle 
of each interval a sort of gutter. Earth up very often, and do not 
put much at a time. Every week a little earth to be put up. 
You should always earth up when the ground is dry at top ; 
and in October, when winter is approaching, earth up very 
nicely to within four or five inches of the very top. When 
you want celery for use, you begin at the end of one trench, remove 
the earth with a spade and dig up the roots. The wet, the snow, 
aidecf' by the frosts and by the thaws, will, if care be not taken, rot 
the celery at the heart, particularly the wet which descends 
from the top, lodges in the heart and rots it. To prevent this, two 
boards, a foot wide each, form the best protection. Their edges 
on one side laid upon the earth of the ridge, formed into a roof 
over the point of the ridge, the upper edge of one board going an 
inch over the upper edge of the other, and the boards fastened well 
with pegs : this will do the business effectually ; for it is the wet 
that you have to fear, and not the frost. If long and hard frost be 
apprehended, a quantity of celery should be taken up and laid in a 
bed of sand or light earth in a shed or cellar ; for, when the ground 
is deeply frozen, it is sometimes impossible to get it out without 
tearing it to pieces ; and it keeps very well for several weeks in a 
shed or cellar. To have the seed of celery, take one plant or two, 
ia the spring, out of the ridge that stands last. Plant it in an 
open place, and it will give you seed enough for several years ; for 
the seed keeps good for ten years at least, if kept pretty much 
from the air, and in a dry place. # 

140. CHERVIL. — This, like celery, spinage, and some few 
other garden plants, is very much liked by some people, and cannot 
be endured by others. It is an annual plant : its leaves a good deal 
like those of double parsley : it is used in salads, to which it gives an 
odour that some people very much like : it bears a seed resembling 
that of a wild oat ; it is sowed in rows late in March or early in 
April ; and a very small patch of it is enough for any garden : it 
bears its seed, of course, the first summer, bears it too in great 
abundance, and, if properly preserved, the seed will last for six or 
seven vears at the least. 



90 



KiTCHEN-GARDEN PLAiNTS. 



[chap. 



141. CIV^ES. — A little sort of OnioUy which, is perennial : it 
may be propagated from seed ; but the easiest way is by parting 
the roots, which are bunches of little bulbs like those of crocuses 
or snow-drops. The greens only. of this plant are used; and a 
very small patch is sufficient for any garden. Five or six clumps 
in the herb-bed would be sufficient. 

142. CORIANDER is an annual plant that some persons use 
in soups and salads. It is sowed early in April. The seed is also 
used as a medicine. A yard or two square of it will be sufficient. 

143. CORN (Indian). — Infinite is the variety of the sorts of 
Indian corn, and great is the difference in the degrees of heat suf- 
ficient to bring the different sorts to perfection. Several of the 
sorts will seldom ripen well with the heat which they get in the 
state of New York, requiring that of Carolina or Virginia, at least. 
Other sorts will ripen perfectly well as far north as Boston ; and 
there is a dwarf sort which will ripen equally well on land 500 
miles to the north of the last-mentioned place. Whether this be 
the same sort as that which I cultivate, I do not exactly know ; but 
mine never fails to come to perfection in England, be the summer 
what it may. This is a very fine garden vegetable. The ear is 
stripped off the stalk just at the time when the grains are full of 
milk. The ears are then boiled for about twenty minutes : they 
are brought to table whole ; each person takes an ear, rubs over 
it a little butter, and sprinkles it with a little salt, and bites the 
grains from the stalk to which they are attached, and which in 
America is called the cob. In the Indian corn countries, every 
creature likes Indian corn better than any other vegetable, not ex- 
cepting even the fine fruits of those countries. When dead ripe, 
the grains are hard as any grain can be ; and upon this grain, with- 
out any grinding, horses are fed, oxen are fatted, hogs are fatted, 
and poultry made perfectly fat by eating the grain whole tossed 
down to them in the yard. The finest turkeys in the whole world 
are fatted in this way, without the least possible trouble. Nothing 
can be easier to raise. The corn is planted along little drills about 
three or four feet apart, the grains at four inches apart in the drill, 
any when during the first fortnight in May. When it is out of the 
ground about two inches, the ground should be nicely moved all 
over, and particularly near to the plants. When the plants attain 
to the height of a foot, the ground should be dug between them, 
and a little earth should be put up about the stems. When the 



CUCUMBER. 



91 



plants attain the height of a foot and a half or two feet, another 
digging should take place, and the stems of the plants should be 
earthed up to another four or five inches : after this, you have 
nothing to do but keep the ground clear from weeds. The corn 
will be in bloom, and tiie ears will begin to show themselves, in the 
latter end of July : in the latter end of August, there will be some 
corn fit to eat ; and as some ears will always be more backward 
than others, there will always be some in proper order for eating 
till about the latter end of September. Those ears which are not 
gathered before October will become ripe, and the grains in them 
hard : two or three of the finest ought to be saved for seed, and the 
rest given to poultry : about three rows across one of the p!ats in 
the garden would be sufficient for any family. 

144. CORN-SALAD. — This is a little insignificant annual 
plant that some persons use in salads. It is, indeed, a iceed, and 
can be of no real use where lettuces are to be had. It bears abun- 
dance of seed ; and a little of it may be had by sowing in April, if 
any one should have the strange curiosity. If sown in August it 
will stand the winter, and w ill not run olf to seed so soon as if 
sown in April. 

145. CRESS is excellent in salads, with lettuces. It is a pep- 
pery little thing, far preferable to mustard or rape. Ir is an an- 
nual, and bears prodigious quantities of seed. A small quantity 
should, in the salad season, be sowed every six days or therea- 
bouts ; for it should be cut before it comes into rough leaf. It is 
sowed in little drills made with the tops of the fingers, and covered 
slightly with very fine earth : it is up almost immediately, and 
quite fit to cut in five or six days. This and other small salads 
may be very conveniently raised, in the winter time, in any hot-bed 
that you happen to have. 

146. CUCUMBER. — The instructions relative to the raising 
of cucumbers naturally divide themselves into two sets ; one ap- 
plicable to the raising of cucumbers in hot-beds, and the other to 
the raising of cucumbers in the natural ground, or with some 
little portion of artificial heat. I shall first speak of the former ; 
for the produce of this plant is a very great favourite ; it is a 
general desire to have it early ; and it is unquestionably true that 
the flavour of the cucumber is never so delicate, and the smell 
never so refreshing, as when it is raised in a hot-bed, or, at least, 
by the means of some artificial heat. To do this, however, at so 



92 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



early a season as to have cucumbers fit to cut in March, requires 
great attention, some expense, but particularly great attention. 
I shall, therefore, endeavour to give directions for the doing of this, 
in as plain a manner as I possibly can ; and the reader will please 
to observe that the directions given for tli# rearing of cucumbers 
will also apply to the rearing of melons ; or, at least, they will thus 
apply in very great part, and with those exceptions only w^hich 
would be mentioned under the head of melons. In Chapter III. 
we have seen how a hot-bed is to be made ; make such a bed, lour 
feet high, in the last fortnight of December. Make it, however, 
for a frame of one light only ; and let it extend every w ay to a foot 
on the outside of the bottom of the frame. Put on the frame as 
directed in Chapter III., ascertain when the heat is what it ought 
to be according to the rule laid down in that Chapter, cover the 
bed over four inches deep with dry mould, a good provision of 
which you ought to have prepared and kept in a shed. Then, and at 
the same time, put about a bushel of earth in a flattish heap in the 
middle of the bed, and lay about another bushel round the insides 
of the frame at the Fame time. Turn this earth over with your 
hand once or twice in twenty-four or forty-eight hours, giving the 
bed air in the middle of the day ; then level the bushel of earth 
very nicely, and put in some early-frame cucumber seeds in as 
great number as you may want, at half an inch deep, cover them 
over, and press the earth gently down upon them. They will 
appear above-ground in a very few days ; but you must take care 
to give the bed as much air as it will endure, even before the seed 
comes up ; and, after that, ai?- must be given in as great quantity 
as the weather will permit, to prevent the plants from being drawn 
up with slender shanks. If the weather be very severe, litter or straw 
should be laid all round the bed, and quite up to the top of the frame, 
to keep out the frost and to keep in the heat ; but, above all things, as 
much air as possible ought to be given ; for there is always a steam 
or reek in a hot-bed ; and if this be not let out, it destroys the stems 
of the plants, and they very quickly perish. Yet there may be 
snow, there may be such severe frost, as to render this giving of 
air very perilous. In the night-time, it will frequently be necessary 
to cover over the top of the lights, not only with mats (which 
always ought to be done at this time of the year) ; but with straw 
to a considerable thickness, besides the rnats. In this case, you 
first lay tlie mat over the gUiss : then put the straw upon the mat: 



v.] 



CUCUMBER. 



93 



then put another mat over the straw, and fasten that mat securely 
all over the frame, ^Yhich is best done by billets of wood about a 
foot and a half long and three inches thick each wav, with a 
tenter-hook at one end to hang it on to the mat. This is much 
better than tacking the mats on to the frame by a hammer and 
nails ; for this is a carpentering sort of work to be performed twice 
a-day. If the weather be tolerably favourable, if it be not ex- 
tremely untoward, and if you have taken the proper pains, the 
plants will be lit to be put into pots in about four or five days from 
the time of their coming up. The time for doing this, however, 
is best pointed out by the state of the plants, which, as soon as 
you see the rough leaf peeping up, are ready for pottmg. You then 
get your pots about five inches deep, six inches over at the top, 
and four inches over at the bottom, measuri g from outside to 
outside. You put a small oyster-shell, the hollow part downwards, 
over the hole at the bottom of the pot. You fill the pots about 
three parts full of earth, heave the plants out of the ground with 
your fingers, put two plants into each pot : holding the head of 
each towards the rim, while you put in more earth with the other 
hand to fill the pot up to the rim. Then take the pot, and gently 
rap the bottom of it upon the edge of the frame three or four times, 
which will settle down the earth sufficiently, and will leave the 
earth about half an inch below the rim. You may then press the 
root of each plant a little with the point of your finger, and put on 
a little more earth to make all smooth. Observe, that the shanks of 
the plants are to go so deeply down into the pot as to leave the 
seed-leaves but a very little above the level of the earth in the pot. 
The earth will come out of the heap to fill the pots \\ ith ; and a 
very small part of it will suffice. You will now draw the earth 
from the sides of the frame toward the middle of the bed, and, 
having formed it into a broader heap than before, put the pots 
down into the mould up to the rim, taking care that they stand 
perfectly level, and taking care also the tops of the plants do 
not stan.i too far from the glass ; for that would cause them to 
be drawn up and be made v. eak. About six inches from the glass 
is quite enough. I am supposing that your first cucumber-bed, 
for the producing of fruit, is to have four lights. You will there- 
fore want but four pots of plants, but it will be better to have 
double the number ; the supernumeraries cost nothing, and they 
may save a neighbour the trouble of making a seed-bed. In this 



94 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



state the plants stand until they go into the bed where they 
are to bear. They will be lit for removal as soon as they have 
made two fair rough leaves, and have begun to exhibit the appear- 
ance of shoots or runners coming forth. But, while the plants are 
in this situation, you must be careful to top them or stop them. 
From between the seed leaves there will come out a shoot, which 
will presently have one rough leaf on each side of it ; then between 
these two rough leaves you will see a shoot rising. The moment 
this is clearly distinguishable, pinch it clean out with your fore- 
finger and thumb ; and this will cause shoots to come out on both 
sides from the sockets of the two rough leaves which have been 
left ; and by the time that these side-shoots become an inch and 
a half long, the plants ought to be removed into the large bed 
where they are to grow and to bear ; for by this time they will 
have filled the pot w ith roots ; and, if they stand in the pots much 
longer, some of these roots will become matted together on the 
outsides and at the bottom of the pot, where they will perish, and 
cause the plants to be stunted. At this age, therefore, they should 
be removed into the new bed, of the making and managing of which 
w^e must now speak. The dung for it should be put into a heap, 
and turned beforehand in the manner described in Chapter III. ; 
and about a week, or a little more, before the plants are ready to 
come out of the seed-bed, this new^ bed must be made full four 
feet high, or four feet and a half, in the manner directed in Chap- 
ter III. The frame should be put on, the state of the heat ascer- 
tained, in the manner there directed, and, in this case, the frame 
ought to fit the bed as nearly as possible, and the bed ought not 
to extend beyond the sides of the frame, as in the case of the 
seed-bed ; for here there are to be linings, the purpose of which 
we shall see by-and-by. This bed having arrived at the proper 
heat, should be covered all over with dry mould to the depth of 
four inches ; then about three quarters of a bushel of similar 
mould ought to be laid in the centre of each light, rather nearer, 
however, to the back than to the front of the frame ; and at the 
same time, three or four bushels of mould, or more, ought to be 
laid round against the frame on the inside. The mould in the 
heaps, as well as that round the sides of the frame, and in- 
deed the mould all over the bed, ought to be stirred once 
at least every day, and air ought to be given to the bed, 
though there are as yet no plants in it. Everything having 



v.] 



CUCUMBER. 



95 



been thus prepared, take four pots of the plants ; those which 
appear to be the finest, of course ; put the mould into a round 
heap under the middle of each light of the new bed, make 
a hole in the centre of the heap suitable for your purpose. Take 
the pots of plants, one at a time, put the fingers of one of your 
hands on the top of the earth of the pot, then turn the pot upside 
down, give the rim of it a little tap upon the edge of the frame, 
pushing the oyster-shell with the fore finger of the other hand, 
and the plants and earth will come clean out of the pot in a con- 
nected ball, which with both hands you are to deposit in the hole 
which you have made in the heap in the centre of the light. When 
you have thus deposited it, draw the earth of the heap well up 
about the ball, and press it a little with your fingers, taking care 
of two things, first, that the hole be sufficiently deep to admit the 
ball down into it so low that the earth of the hill, when drawn up 
about the plants, may come up quite to the lower side of the stem 
of the seed-leaves ; and, second, taking care that the points of the 
leaves of the p ants be not more than six inches distance from the 
glass. While the plants were in the seed-bed, it might have been 
necessary to w ater them once or twice, and especially about four 
days before their removal out of the pots ; and now again, at this 
final transplanting, a little water should be given, gently poured on 
in one place, between the stems of the two plants, and the hole 
that that water makes should be covered again with a little fresh 
earth. The other four pots of plants, which you do not want_, may 
be sunk in the earth in any part of this new bed, being watered 
occasionally, and finally flung away if you do not want them. 
But at this time of the year the water must not be cold : it must 
have stood in the bed, in a small watering-pot, to get warm, and 
this must be observed continually until a much later season of the 
year. By the time that you have these plants in the bearing-bed, 
the latter end of January will have come, and you will have all the 
difficulties of hard weather to contend with. The bed itself will 
not have a sufficiently strong heat for more than about a fort- 
night, and therefore linings must be prepared, the dung for which 
must be got ready in time, as mentioned in Chapter III., and the 
lining is to be made thus ; the first lining is put at the back, or 
north side of the bed. It is, in fact, another narrow hot-bed, 
built up along at the back of the original one, perpendicular, as 
near as may be, till you approach the top, twenty inches through. 



96 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



made of good materials, and put together with the greatest care. 
It is to be carried up even to the height of the top of the frame, 
where a board is to be laid upon it, close against the frame, 
in order to prevent the steam, arising from it, finding its way in 
upon the plants. This lining will send great heat into the bed, 
and will continue so to do for a great while ; but still a fresh sup- 
ply of heat will be wanted : and, therefore, in about another fort- 
night, you are to put a similar lining to both ends of the bed ; and 
in a fortnight from that time, or thereabouts, according to the 
weather and the state of the bed, another similar lining in the 
front of the bed, the dung having, in all these cases, been duly 
prepared, as noticed in Chapter III. As these linings sink, they 
ought to be topped up, keeping them always as nearly as possible 
to the height of the top of the frame. If very sharp weather come 
before these linings, or before some of them have been made, good 
quantities of litter or of straw ought to be brought temporarily to 
supply their place, so that frost never reach the bed. Even when 
there are linings, it is good, in very sharp weather, to put litter 
and straw round the outsides of them ; for, dung being moist, the 
frost soon reaches it, and then it becomes inactive at once. To 
these precautions, relative to the heat, must be added the not-less- 
important ones relative to air and light ; for, without these, no 
plant will thrive, nor will it live but for a short space of time. At 
this season of the year, the glasses must be covered over in the 
night time, as was before mentioned in the case of the seed-bed ; 
but these coverings should remain on in the morning never longer 
than is absolutely necessary. Though there be no sun, there is 
light, and plants crave the light at the time when nature sends 
it. As to air, it is given to the plants by the means of pieces 
of triangular wood, which every one knows how to make. The 
light is lifted up at one end, and the tilter, as it is called, is put 
under the middle of the light to keep it up to the height required. 
You sometimes give air on the back side of the frame and some- 
times on the fro lit, according to the direction in which the wind is 
coming. To give directions respect ng the quantity of air, one can 
only say that it must be in proportion to the heat of the bed and 
the state of the weather ; but it may be observed, as an invariable 
rule, that strong heat and a good quatitity of air are the sure means 
of having early cucumbers. When the air is kept exckided or 
supplied in niggardly quantities, because the heat is not powerful 



CUCUMBER. 



97 



enough to counteract its chilling effects, the plants will linger on 
alive, to be sure, but their colour will be approaching to a yellow, 
their leaves small, their shoots slender, their blossoms small and 
feeble, the fruit, if they show any, will not swell ; and, if they bear 
after all, it will not be before pretty nearly the month of May, in- 
stead of a decent bearing in the month of March. A good strong 
bottom heat, with a great deal of light, and with a liberal quantity 
of air, are the great means of having cucumbers. The next thing 
to be noticed is the after-cultivation of the plants, and, first, 
with respect to the shoots or runners that come out of them. 
There wdll come two shoots out of each plant, and these wall soon 
begin to grow in a horizontal position, and indeed go along the 
ground, which it is their nature to do ; but these two shoots would 
not be sufficient ; for they would soon get to the outside of the 
bed, leaving the middle of the bed not half covered with vines ; 
therefore, when these runners have got three joints, and aie be- 
ginning to make a fourth, pinch off the top of each runner. New 
side-shoots or runners will then come out from the three joints. 
When these have got four joints, which will be very quickly, pinch 
off the fifth as soon as it appears. Each plant will now have a 
dozen or two of runners, and that is enough for one light. After 
this, you may let the runners go on, giving their heads a better 
direction, now-and-then, in order to cover the ground in the bed ; 
for they will need no more topping. But there must be earthing 
as well as topping. As the plants advance above ground, so 
they will below ground, and you must keep putting up earth to the 
hills in order to supply fresh food for the roots, which you will find 
pushing out in every direction. It is the practice of some gar- 
deners to be everlastingly drawing the earth away from the side 
of the hills till they come to the plants, in order to take the points 
of the roots up and put earth under them, so as to give the roots 
a horizontal direction. This is sheer nonsense. All that is ne- 
cessary is to keep the hills continually made larger and larger in 
circumference, as the roots approach the outside, and until you 
have got all the bed level to the tops of the hills. As you extend 
the circumference of the hills, the runners will advance upon you ; 
and, that the bed may be covered evenly with the vines, the run- 
ners should be occasionally held down by little pegs of wood with 
hooks at the top of them. At last the bed is even and level all 
over. And, finally, it is covered with the vines, and should always 

H 



98 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



be kept quite clear of the innumerable weeds that will start in such 
a favourable situation ; but, long before this, there will be blos- 
soms and even fruit, if the plants be in good health. Tlje first 
fruit that appear generally remains small, and never swells to any 
size ; but these are soon followed by others that swell and that 
come to perfection ; and^ if all these directions be attended to, 
and if the weather be not worse than it is one year out of tsventy, 
you can hardly fail to have cucumbers to cut about the mid ale of 
March, which is a very fine thing for a gardener to say ; and, 
though here is a great deal of detail, though here are a great 
number of things to do, there is much more of words than of 
deeds in the thing : it takes two or three sentences to describe 
how a plant is to be put into, or turned out of, a pot ; but the act 
itself is performed in half a minute. Care ought to be taken that 
there be not too great a quantity of vines in the bed ; for, if the 
mass of leaves be too great, they shade part of the vines, and the 
blossoms and the fruit ; and, instead of having more fruit from 
the abundance of vines, you have perhaps none at all. This 
overstocking of the bed with vines is a great and prevalent error. 
For my part, I think one plant enough for each hill, and I never 
kept but one in a hill, and, if I put two into a pot, it was by 
way of precaution lest one should fail. One will bring more 
weight of fruit than two, two more than three, and so on, till you 
come to a number that would give you no fruit at all. The plants, 
thus crowded, rob one another ; their roots interfere with those of 
each other. They cease to bear sooner than they would if they 
stood singly ; and, in short, my experience and observation induce 
me strongly to urge the reader never to have in a hot-bed, whether 
of cucumber or melon, more than one plant in a light. As the season 
advances, a greater proportion of air is to be given, of course, and 
there is to be less covering in the night-time, dependent, however, 
more on the state of the weather than on the precise time of the 
year ; for we have frequently mild weather in February and severe 
weather in March. When the weather becomes such as that water 
will have the chill taken from it by being placed under a south 
wall or in a hot-bed, water thus prepared may do very well but, 
until then, the water should be a little warm. Every one will be 
a judge when the earth is so dry as to require water ; but care 
should be taken not to let the water fall in great quantities just 
upon the stems of the plants at any stage of their growth, for that 



CUCUMBER. 



99 



is apt to rot them. This early cucumber-bed will keep on bearing 
very well until the latter end of May, by which time another bed, 
made about the middle or latter end of March, will have succeeded 
it. The plants for this second crop of cucumbers are to be raised 
in pots put into the cucumber-bed last mentioned. They are to 
be managed like those for the first bed, except that they must be 
sown in a pot, instead of being sown in a hill. The bed for these 
plants need not be above two feet and a half high, or thereabouts. 
It will probably waot a slight lining ; but the materials need not 
be equal to those made use of in the making of the early bed. In 
the case of this latter bed, much air maybe given, and the covering 
of a mat, or two at most, and that only in the night-time, will be 
sufficient. In April some more plants may be sown in a pot in 
this last bed, and re-potted as before ; and, in the middle of June, 
these may go out into hills (under hand-glasses or without) in the 
open ground, there to produce cucumbers for pickling, or indeed 
for using in any other way, from the middle of July until the time 
that the frost comes. Thus will there be a succession of cucum- 
bers from the middle of March to the month of October. As to 
sorts, great attention must be paid ; for some sorts produce 
their fruit a great deal quicker than others. There is one called 
the early frame cucumber ; another is called the early cluster 
cucumber ; another is called the long pricMy cucumber. The 
early frame has doubtless been found to be the quickest in 
coming to perfection ; but the cluster is a very great bearer, and 
comes not much later than the other. There are several other 
sorts, but the long prickly cucumber is most generally esteemed ; 
and, therefore, ought to be sowed for those who want a general 
crop. With regard to sorts, however, people generally save the 
seed themselves of this plant, or get it from some careful and 
curious neighbour ; and every one sows that which happens to 
suit his fancy. If you wish to save the seed of a cucumber, let some 
one fine fruit remain ; but expect the plant, on which this fruit is, 
to cease bearing as soon as the seed cucumber begins to ripen. 
This fruit must hang upon the vine till it pretty nearly rots off : 
you then take the seeds and separate them from the pulp as clean 
as you can, place them to dry in the sun ; but do not wash them 
with water : when perfectly dry, but not before, put them away in 
a dry place, and they will keep good for a great many years. 
Guard them against mice, for, if they get at them, not one seed 



100 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



will they leave with the kernel of it not eaten. After all, if you 
have no hot-bed at all, a couple of wheelbarrows full of hot dung 
put into a hole a foot deep, and with good mould a foot deep laid 
upon the dung, is a very good situation for cucumbers, which you 
may sow there about the middle of May ; two or three plants 
upon such a hill or bed ; and, if you have a hand-glass, keep the 
plants covered with that in the night-time and when the days are 
cold, always giving air, however, when the sun is out, and, in time, 
raising the glass upon bricks, and letting the vines run out under it. 
Even if you have no hand-glass, you may cover, with the help of 
hoops and a mat or a cloth, until the weather be such as to render 
it safe for the plants to be at large. Finally, in very rich and warm 
ground, you may sow cucumber-seed in the natural earth, the 
ground having previously been well dug, and being kept very clean 
afterwards ; and, though there be a chance of your having no crop, 
you may have, and generally will have, a great quantity of cucum- 
bers to pickle by the latter end of August. Before I dismiss this 
article, let me observe that I have omitted to say anything about 
what is called setting the fruit by poking the centre of the male 
blossoms into the centre of the female blossoms ; because I deem 
it to be arrant nonsense. The reader ought, before I entirely quit 
this article, to be informed that the hot-bed, in which the cucum- 
ber plants were first raised, may be turned to very good account 
after the plants come out of it ; asparagus may be put into it im- 
mediately ; or, it may be sowed with radishes, onions, lettuces, 
small-salad, or with carrots. Many purposes will suggest them- 
selves to every man. •And, if the bed should fail of its original 
purpose altogether ; or if, owing to some accident, the four-light 
bed should fail of its purpose, still these hot-beds will be found to 
be of great use for other purposes, and will be quite sufficient in 
point of strength for plants of a more hardy nature. 

147. DILL is an aromatic herb, very much like, only smaller 
than, fennel, and it is used by many amongst cucumbers to give an 
additional relish ; as it is also in soups. It is a hardy biennial 
plant, and a small patch in the herb garden of two feet by six will 
be enough for any family. Sow in drills six inches apart, in the 
spring, making the ground fine first, and raking fine earth fightly 
over the drills. Thin the plants out when they are a couple of 
inches high, and let them then remain where they are ; and you 
will have abundance of self-sowed plants every spring for renew- 
ing your bed. 



ENDIVE. 



101 



148. ENDIVE. — This is a plant used for salads, and is some- 
times used, perhaps, in cookery. There is a curled sort, and one 
that IS plain, or smooth-leaved. The curled is generally perferred 
to the other, but perhaps there is very little difference in the qua- 
hty. The lettuce, when to be had, is decidedly preferred to the 
endive ; and therefore this latter is used for salad in autumn, and 
through the winter as long as it can be had. If any one wish to 
have endive in summer, it must be sowed early; but, about the 
middle of the month of July, or, perhaps, a little before, is the 
main time for sowing endive. If sowed much before, it generally 
runs off to seed, and, in fact, it is so much ground and trouble 
thrown away. Make a bed very fine, and sow the seed in drills at 
eighteen inches apart, and about half an inch deep in the drill, the 
earth being pressed down very closely upon the seed. The plants, 
which will be quickly up, must be thinned as soon as possible to 
eighteen inches in the row, and thus they will stand, throughout 
the bed, at eighteen inches from each other. The leaf of the endive 
goes off horizontally, and lies flat upon the ground ; and, if the 
ground be good and rich, as it ought to be, and kept perfectly 
clean, the points of the leaves will meet all over the ground, 
though at distances so great ; but, if cramped for room, endive 
can never be fine. When the plants have got something like their 
full size, they are to be bleached before they be eaten ; for they 
have a bitter and disagreeable taste, and are quite a coarse and 
disagreeable thing, unless made white. The manner of bleaching 
them is this. You take the plant, put your fingers under all the 
leaves that touch the ground, gather the whole plant up in your 
hands into a conical form, and then tie it round with matting, 
which is to go several times round the plant, and which is to cause 
the plant to end so pointedly at the top as to prevent rain or dew 
from reaching the inside. When the plant has remained thus for 
about a fortnight, you cut it off at the stem, take off the matting, 
and you will find that ail the leaves, except those of the outside, 
are become white and crisp, and free from bitterness of taste. To 
have a succession of these in good order, you should begin at one 
end of the bed and tie up a dozen or two once or twice a week ; 
and, when you cut, always cut those that were tied up first ; but it 
is very important to observe that this w^ork of bleaching or tying- 
up must never be performed except when all the leaves of the 
plants are perfectly dry. The great difficulty in the case of endive, 



102 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



is, to have it to use in winter ; for, though it is hardy enough, it 
win rot, if it stand tied up too long ; and it is difficult to preserve 
it, on account of this tendency to rot. One way is to take up 
the roots with balls to them in the month of October, when they 
are perfectly dry, tying the plants up, as before mentioned, at the 
same time, planting these balls in sand or earth, in a shed. But 
as this can hardly make the plants reach, for use, beyond the mid- 
dle of December, the only effectual way to have endive in winter is 
to cover them with glazed frames in the fall of the year, or to do 
the same very well with hoops and mats, taking all covering off in 
mild weather, just protecting the plants from hard frosts, and going 
on bleaching and cutting for use as directed for the autumn. 
Endive may be transplanted, but it does not transplant so well as 
lettuce, and the plants are never so fine as those that remain on 
the spot where they were sowed. If transplanted, they should be 
put at about twelve inches apart, hoed nicely between and kept 
clear from weeds. Endive, if sowed early in the spring, ripens its 
seed that same summer ; but the best way is to save two or three 
good plants that have stood the winter, and let them go to seed. 
They will produce a great abundance, which, if carefully preserved, 
will keep good four or five years, at the least. I have mentioned 
the middle of July as the time of sowing for the main crop : but 
some may be be sowed later, as it does not require any great deal 
of room. 

149. FENNELL is an perennial herb, propagated from seed or 
from offsets, sowed in the spring, or the offsets planted in the fall. 
The plants should stand about a foot asunder. The leaves are 
used in salads, or for making a part of the sauce for fish. In 
winter, the seeds are bruised, to put into fish-sauce, and they give 
it the same flavour as the leaves of the plant. It is a very hardy 
thing ; two yards square in the herb-bed will be enough for any 
family ; and, once in the ground, it will stand for an age. 

150. GARLICK may be propagated from the seed; but is 
usually propagated from offsets. It is a bulb which increases after 
the manner of the hyacinth and the tulip : the offsets are taken off 
in these spring and planted in rows at a foot apart, being merely 
pressed into the ground with the finger and thumb, and covered 
over with a little earth. The ground ought to be kept perfectly 
clean during the summer, and, though it ought to be good, it 
ought by no means to be wet. When the leaves begin to get 



GOURD, HOP. 



103 



brown and to die, the root should be taken up and laid upon a 
board in the hottest sun that is going, until they be perfectly dry : 
then tied up in bunches by the leaves, and hung up and preserved 
in a dry place. 

151. GOURD is a sort of pumpkin ; but I know not any use 
that it is of. If any one w ish to cultivate it, out of mere curiosity, 
the directions will be found under " Pumpkin." 

152. HOP. — The hop-top ; that is to say, the shoot w-hich 
comes out in the spring and when it is about four or five inches 
long, being tied up in little bunches, and boiled for about half an 
hour, and eaten after the manner of asparagus, is as delightful 
a vegetable as ever was put upon a table, not yielding, perhaps, 
during about the three weeks that it is in season, to the asparagus 
itself. What the hop is, in the hop plantations, every one in Eng- 
land knows ; but the manner of propagating the plant is by no 
means a matter of such notoriety. The hop may be propagated 
from seed ; but it never is. The mode of propagation is by cut- 
tings from the crown or the roots : pieces of these, about six 
inches long, being planted in the ground w ith a setting-stick either 
in spring or in autumn, shoot up and become plants. The hills or 
clumps in the hop-plantations are generally formed by plants w hich 
have stood a year or two in a nursery where the cuttings have 
been planted. About four or five of these plants are put into a 
clump, little sticks are put to them the first year to hold up their 
slender vines, the next year rods, the next year small and short 
poles, upon which they begin to bear, and the next year poles of 
the full length sufficient to carry a crop. The vines which have 
gone up during the summer, and borne the crop, are cut off to 
within tW'O feet of the ground when the hops are gathered ; in the 
spring of the year, the earth is drawn away all round from the 
hill, and all the top part of the plants is cut off, leaving the crown 
to look like a piece of cork ; from this crown, which is lightly 
covered over w ith earth, fresh shoots come again in great numbers, 
a part of the finest of these go up the poles, the weak ones are 
suffered to hang about the ground for some time ; they are then 
cut off close to the ground, and the earth is drawn over the crown 
of the hill, forming a pretty large heap altogether before the sum- 
mer be over. To have hop-tops in a garden, therefore, about a 
dozen or twenty hills might be planted along, and pretty near to, 
one of the hedges. The cultivation should be after the manner 



104 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



above directed ; but, as there must be some vines to go up to the 
full length, there might be a pole or two to each hill to carry up 
four or six stout vines. The poles need not be long, and, if they 
were not permitted to bear, the plant would be the stronger. 
These hills would, every spring, send forth a prodigious number of 
shoots to serve as tops. These, as was said before, are to be 
cropped off close to the ground when they are four or five inches 
long ; and the hills, when once established, will last for a life- 
time, with the culture before mentioned and with a good digging 
of the ground once every winter. 

153. HORSE-RADISH.— Asa I know of nothing quite 
so pertinacious and pernicious as this : I know of nothing but fii e 
which will destroy its powers of vegetation : and I have never yet 
seen it clearly extirpated from ground which had once been filled 
wath its roots and fibres. But, as a vegetable, it is a very fine 
thing : its uses are well known, and to those uses it is applied by 
all who can get it. It is generally dearer, in proportion to its 
bulk, than any other vegetable, and much dearer, too. The trouble 
which its cultivation gives, that is to say its encroachments, 
causes it to be banished from small gardens ; and therefore it is 
scarce, though so difficult to be destroyed. Any little bit of it, 
w hether of fibre or of root, a bit not bigger than a pea, not longer 
than the eighth of an inch, if it have a bit of skin or bark on it, 
will grow. The butts of the leaves will grow, if put into the 
ground, and it bears seed in prodigious abundance. The best 
w ay to get horse-radish is to make holes a couple of feet deep 
w ith a bar, and to toss little bits down to the bottom of the holes, 
and then fill them up again. You will soon have a plantation of 
horse-radish, the roots long, straight, thick and tender. A square 
rod of ground, with the roots in it planted a foot apart every way. 
Will, if kept clear of weeds, as it always ought to be and never is, 
produce enough for a family that eats roast beef every day of their 
lives. The horse-radish should be planted in the south-east or 
south-west corner of the outside garden, near to the hedge, and 
it ought to be resolved to prevent its encroachments beyond 
the boundaries of the spot originally allotted to it. Every 
antumn, that part of the ground which has been cleared during 
the year, which might be about one third part of the piece, 
ought to be deeply dug and replanted as before; and thus theie 
will be a succession of young long roots ; for, after the horse- 



>■•] 



LAVENDER, LEEK. 



105 



radish has borne seed once or twice, its root becomes hard, brown 
on the outside, not juicy when it is scraped, and eats more like 
little chips than like a garden vegetable : so that, at taverns and 
eating-houses, there frequently seems to be a rivalship on the point 
of toughness between the horse-radish and the beef-steak ; and it 
would be well if this inconvenient rivalship never discovered itself 
anywhere else. 

154. HYSSOP is a sort of half-woody shrub, something be- 
tween a tree and an herbaceous plant. The flower-spikes are 
used, fresh or dry, for medicinal purposes. It is propagated from 
seed or from offsets. A very little of it is enough: a couple of 
plants in the herb-bed may suffice for any family. 

155. JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.—This plant bears at the 
root, like a potatoe, which, to the great misfortune of many of the 
human race, is everywhere but too well known. But this arti- 
choke, which is also dug up and cooked b'ke a potatoe, has, at 
any rate, the merit of giving no trouble either in the cultivation or 
the propagation. A handful of the bits of its fruit, or even of its 
roots, flung about a piece of ground of any sort, will keep bearing 
for ever in spite of grass and weeds ; the difficulty being, not to 
get it to grow, but to get the ground free from it when once it has 
taken to growing. It is a very poor, insipid vegetable ; but, if you 
have a relish for it, pray keep it out of the garden, and dig up the 
corner of some field, or of some worthless meadow, and throw 
some roots into it. 

156. LAVENDER.— A beautiful little well-known shrub of 
uses equally well known, whether used in the flower or in the water 
which is distilled from it. Like all other plants and trees, it may be 
propagated from seed ; but it is easiest propagated from slips, taken 
ofl" early in the spring, and planted in good moist ground in the 
shade. When planted out, the plants should stand three feet apart. 
The flower-stalks should be cut ofl^, whether for preserving in 
flowers, or for distillation, before any of the blossoms begin to fall 
ofl" ; just indeed as those blossoms begin to open wide. The lavender 
plant grows large, and it should therefore be in the outer garden. 

157. LEEK. — This is a plant, which, for certain purposes, is 
perferred to onions. The time for sowing is as early in the 
spring as the weather and the ground will permit ; the latter 
end of February, or very early in March. Sow in little drills 
made across a bed of fine earth, put the rows eight inches 



106 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



asunder, and thin the plants to three inches apart in the row. 
Keep the ground clean by nice hoeing until the middle of J uly 
or thereabouts ; then take the plants up, cut the roots off to an 
inch long, and cut off the tops of the leaves, but not too low 
down ; make deep drills with a hoe at two feet apart. Plant 
the leeks in these drills with a setting-stick, fastening them well 
in the ground, and leaving the drill open. As the plants grow, 
put to their sides the earth that came out of the drill, after 
that, draw more up to them on each side from the interval ; and, 
if your ground be really good, as it ought to be, each leek will 
be as big as your wrist in the month of October. They will 
stand the winter perfectly well without any covering at all ; but, as 
a provision against hard frost, some plants should always be 
taken up and put into earth or sand in a shed or in a cellar, for 
the same reasons as those stated under the head of celery. Three 
or four leeks that have stood the winter may be left at the end of 
one of the rows, or, if you please, moved to another spot to pro- 
duce seed which would be ripe in the month of August, and give 
you enough for yourself, and for two or three neighbours. 

158. LETTUCE.— This great article of the garden is milky, 
refreshing, and pleasanter to a majority of tastes than almost any 
other plant. So necessary is it deemed as the principal ingredient 
of a good salad, that it is, in France and America, generally called 
^' Salad/' and scarcely ever by any other name. It is therefore a 
thing worthy of particular attention, not only as to propagation 
and cultivation, but as to sorts. The way to sow lettuce in the 
natural ground is this ; make the ground rich to begin with, draw 
the drills across the bed fifteen inches apart, sow the seed thinly 
in these drills, and press the earth nicely down upon them, which 
work is to be done as early as you can do it well, in the month of 
March. When the plants come up, thin them quickly to four 
inches apart. When they get to be about four or five inches high, 
leave one and take up two throughout all the rows, and then hoe 
the ground nicely between the remaining plants, having before- 
hand made another bed to receive the plants thus taken up ; plant 
these in rows across a bed, the rows fifteen inches apart and the 
plants fifteen inches apart in the row^ : this is done with a little 
setting-stick with which you must carefully fix the point of the 
root in the ground, as directed in the case of the cabbage plant. 
Atiother sowing in April, managed in just the same way, may be 



LETTUCE. 



107 



the last for the summer ; for if sowed later, it is very rarely that 
the plants will loave or be good for any thing. This is what every 
man may do that has ground in sufficient quantity and well-situated ; 
but the lettuce is a thing which people desire to have very early 
in the spring, and, if possible, in the winter. To have lettuces to 
eat in the winter, they must be sowed in August or September, in 
the natural ground, in the manner before described, and in Novem- 
ber, before they have been mauled by the frost, they must be 
taken up without much disturbance of their roots, and put into a 
pretty good hot-bed made for the purpose, the mould for which 
ought to be eight inches deep, at the least. They should be wa- 
tered a little at planting, should stand nine inches apart every way, 
should be shaded from the sun, if there be sun, for a couple of days, 
should then have as much air given to them constantly as the wea- 
ther will permit, should be kept clear from rotten leaves and pu- 
trified matter of every description, should have a lining to the bed, 
if the weather require it, should above all things, have as much air 
as the weather will permit, and should, however, be kept safe from 
being touched by the frost. If all these things be attended to 
and if the season be not uncommonly adverse, you may have fine 
lettuces by the latter end of December, and through the months of 
January and February, an object the accomplishment of which 
would be ensured by having a second bed made at the same time, 
to contain plants a fortnight or three weeks younger. To have let- 
tuces early in the spring : you sow in August or early in Sep- 
tember, as before, transplant the lettuces in October into the 
warmest and best-sheltered spots that you have. In beds about 
three feet wide with hoops and rods placed over the beds soon 
enough, in order to cover with mats in severe weather ; or instead 
of hoops and mats, cover with a glass frame, and in very sharp 
weather, with mats over that ; but whatever the covering may 
be, take it off the moment the weather will permit you to do it with 
safety. There are, indeed, sorts of lettuce that will generally stand 
the winter without any covering ; in a warm place, and especially 
on the south side of a wall. But these are the flat sorts that brinof 
round heads, and are poor, soft, slimy things compared with the 
coss lettuces ; though even these are better than none. The coss 
lettuces grow upright, fold in their leaves like a sugar-loaf cabbage, 
have a crispoess and sweetness which the others have not. If any 
of these, or indeed of any other sort of lettuce, have stood uncovered 



108 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



until any par t of January or February, they may be then moved into 
a hot-bed, and will be very fine in March : if left to stand in the 
ground and kept clear of slugs, they will still be a good deal earlier 
than lettuces sewed in the spring, even if sowed m a hot-bed. But, 
with all these means, so few can generally be had early in the 
spring, that for general use, that is to say, for kitchen-gardeners 
to get them for tradesmen's families pretty early in May, they must 
be first raised in a hot-bed, sowed there early in March or late in 
February, or sowed under glass upon cold earth, in the fall of the 
year, and preserved as mere plants to plant out, having been kept 
from the frost and the wet during the winter. This sowing takes 
place in September ; the lights are placed in such a way as to let 
no wet get into the frames ; the lights are taken off entirely in mild 
weather ; a great deal of air is given ; and in March, these plants 
are fit to go out into the natural ground, where they are sometimes 
injured by the frost, but generally they are not. This is the way 
in which the great crop of early lettuces is generally raised ; and 
that it the best way the long experience of the market-gardeners 
has amply proved. As to the sorts of lettuces, the green coss and 
the white coss are the best : the former is of a darker green that 
the latter, is rather hardier, and not quite so good. Among the^a^ 
sorts are the brown J)utch, the green cabbage^ and the tennis-ball : 
there are many other sorts, as well of upright as of flat, but it 
would be useless to enumerate them, as it would only bewilder the 
reader in his choice. As to the saving of the seed, half a dozen 
plants that have stood the winter will be quite enough. The seed 
will be ripe in August; biids must be kept from it, or they will 
have all the best before you gather it. The stalks ought to be cut 
off and laid, till they be perfectly dry, in the sun, the seed then 
put away in a perfectly dry place, and in a place where no mice 
can get at it ; for if they get at it, not one good seed will they leave 
you in a very short time. 

159. MANGEL WURZEL.— This may be called cattle-beet, 
but some persons plant it in gardens. It is a coarse beet, and is 
cultivated and preserved as the beet is. 

160. MARJORAM. — One sort is annual and one perennial. 
The former is called summer and the latter winter. The first sowed 
on heat in the month of March. As its seeds are small, a good- 
sized garden-pot sown with it, and placed in a corner of the cu- 
cumber-bed, will produce five hundred plants, which being gra- 



v.] 



MARIGOLD, MELON. 



109 



dually hardened to the air and planted out when about an inch or 
two high, will be enough for a large family. The winter is propa- 
gated by offsets ; that is, by parting the roots. The plants may 
stand pretty close. As the winter sort cannot sometimes be got at 
in winter, some of both ought to be preserved by drying. Cut it 
just before it comes out into bloom, hang it up in little bunches to 
dry first, for a day, in the sun ; then in the shade ; and, when quite 
dry, put it in paper-bags tied up, and the bags hung up in a dry 
place. 

161. MARIGOLD. — An annual plant. Sow the seed in spring; 
when the bloom is at full, gather the flowers ; pull the leaves of 
the flower out of their sockets ; lay them on paper to dry in the 
shade. When dry, put them into paper-bags. They are excellent 
in broths and soups and stews. Two square yards planted wdth 
marigolds will be suflicient. It is the single marigold that ought 
to be cultivated for culinary purposes. The double one is an orna- 
mental flower, and a very mean one indeed. 

162. MELON. — The melon is a hot-country plant, and must 
be raised in England in precisely the same manner as directed for 
early cucumbers, the rules laid down for which apply here equally 
well in every respect but two ; namely, that the lights for me- 
lons should be larger or more extensive than those for cucumbers ; 
and that the earth for melons should not be light and loose, as in 
the case of cucumbers, but should consist chiefly of very stiff loam . 
The finest plants of melons that I ever saw were raised in stifl" loam, 
approaching to a clay, which had been dug out before, and turned 
three or four times in a heap, mixed with dung from a sheep-yard, 
about one-fifth dung and four-fifths loam. This loam should be 
turned in a heap several times during one summer and one winter, 
and then it is fit for use. You should begin to raise melons a month 
or six weeks later than you begin with early cucumbers. Your seeds 
may be sowed in a pot in the cucumber-bed, if you have one ; if 
not, you must make one for the purpose, as in the case of the early 
cucumbers ; though the season when you begin will be later, the bed 
must be equally warm with that for the early cucumbers ; there 
must be linings and everything necessary to keep up a steady bot- 
tom heat. A second crop of melons may succeed the first, in the 
same way that the two crops of cucumbers succeed each other • 
but as to putting melons out upon ridges to be covered with hand- 
glasses or paper-frames, it never succeeds, one time out of twenty. 



110 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



Melons want hotter ground than is hardly ever to be had in Eng- 
land. There should be but one plant in a hill. I have had ten 
fine melons from one single plant, and I never saw the like of that 
from any hill that contained two or three plants. If once the 
plants get spindUng, they never bear fruit of any size or goodness. 
You will see many fruit appear before any one begins to swell. If 
a solitary one should begin to swell before the vines have got to 
any extent, pinch it off ; for, if left on, it will generally prevent the 
plant from bearing any more. There should be three or four upon 
a plant beginning to swell together, or about the same time, in 
order to encourage you to expect a fine crop. Melons are very 
frequently raised, as pines sometimes are, in pits, with foundations 
for frames built upon the ground, or going a little way beneath the 
top of the ground. Upon these walls a wooden coping is fixed, and 
across this coping the lights slide up and down. These are very con- 
venient places for melons ; but, as they do not enter into the plan of 
my garden, it would be useless to take up the time of the reader w ith 
a more particular description of them. When the fruit of the melon 
is perceived to be fairly swelling, a piece of glass or of tile should be 
laid under each fruit to keep it out of the dirt, and, indeed, to add a 
little to the heat that it would receive from the sun ; for melons re- 
quire heat from the sun as well as heat from the earth ; and take 
what pains we will, we have never fine melons in a shady or wet 
summer. As to the sorts of melons, some are finer than others, and 
some come into bearing sooner than others. In speaking of sorts 
I cannot do better than to take the list from the Hortus Kewensis, 
written by Mr Aiton, gardener to the King ; for surely that which 
contents his Majesty may very well content any of us. This list is as 
follows : Early cantaleupe, early leopard, early Polignac, early ro- 
mana, green-fleshed netted, green-fleshed rock, Bosse's early rocky 
black rock, silver rock, scarlet-fleshed rock. In America, they divide 
the melons into two sorts, which are wholly distinct from each other : 
one they call the musk melon ; that is to say, any melon which 
belongs to the tribe of those that we cultivate here, and they call 
these musk melons because they have a musky smell. The other 
species they call the water melon, which has no smell, which never 
turns yellow, which is always of a deep green, in the inside of which, 
instead of being a fleshy pulp, is a sort of pink-coloured snow, 
which melts in the mouth. This melon very frequently weighs 
from twenty to forty pounds, and is not deemed much of a fruit 



MINT, MUSHROOM. 



Ill 



unless it weigh fifteen or sixteen. I raised some of these once 
very well at Botley from seed that was brought from Malta. They 
are a totally different thing from the other tribe ; and, being so 
much better, 1 have often wondered that, where people have great 
space under glass, and great heat at command, they do not raise 
them in England. There is only one hne musk melon that I ever 
saw in America ; which is called the citron melon, having the flesh 
nearly white and being of the shape of a lemon. The mode of cul- 
tivating the water-melon is the same as that of cultivating the 
other ; but it requires more room. If you wish to save the seed of 
melons, you must take it out when you eat the fruit, and do with it 
precisely as is directed in the case of the cucumber seed : but, to 
have the seed true to its kind, it must not be saved on a spot near 
to that in which grow, and have blowed, cucumbers, squashes, 
pumpkins, or anything of that sort ; nor on a spot where any other 
sort of melon has been in bloom at the same time. The greatest 
possible care must be taken in this respect, or you will have fruit 
quite different from that which you expect. 

163. MINT. — There are two sorts : one is of a darker green 
than the other : the former is QdWed. pepper -mint, and is generally 
used for distilling to make mint water : the latter, which is called 
spear-mint, is used for the table in many ways. The French snip 
a little into their salads ; we boil a bunch amongst green peas, to 
which it gives a pleasant flavour ; chopped up small, and put along 
with sugar, into vinegar, we use it as a sauce for roasted lamh; 
and a very pleasant sauce it is. Mint may be propagated from 
seed ; but a few bits of its roots wiil spread into a bed in a year. 
To have it in winter, preserve it precisely like marjoram (which 
see), and instead of chopping it for sauce, crumble it between 
your fingers. 

164. MUSHROOM. — This is one of a numerous tribe of fun- 
guses ; but it is the only one that is cultivated for culinary purposes, 
and this one is scarcely ever seen in any gardens but those of no- 
blemen, or gentlemen of fortune. In their gardens it is cultivated 
in order to be had at all times of the year, for everybody knows 
that, in most parts of England, it comes up spontaneously in the 
meadows and elsewhere. It is cultivated no-how but in hot-beds ; 
but there in two distinct ways. The first is on hot-beds oz<^ of doors, 
and the hot-bed is made and managed in the manner that I will 
now describe. Take stable dung that is not fresh and fiery, or if 



112 



KITCHEN GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



you have no other, mix with it an equal quantity of old hot-bed 
lining, throw it together in a long ridge, where rains will not fall 
on it to ferment, and in about three weeks it will be ready for use. 
Then take and mark out the outline of the base of your bed, just as 
I directed in my instructions about hot-beds in Chapter III. ; but 
as this one is to go up in a sloping direction on both sides like the 
roof of a house, you need not have the upright stakes nor the edge- 
boards that I there recommended. Three or four feet will be quite 
wide enough. The length you regulate according to the quantity 
of mushrooms that you wish to grow. Begin then with your bed, 
shaking the dung up well, and, if it be long, beating it well, just as 
in the case of the cucnmber-bed, only keep drawing it'inby degrees 
till you have it in the shape of the roof of a house : beat it on the 
top as you carry it up, but particularly beat it at the sides, for there 
you will want it to be perfectly even a«d firm. Having finished it? 
you will guard it from rains and from the sun by covering it over with 
long straw, old thatch, or mats ; for it must be neither two wet nor too 
dry. Let it remain in this way a week, or till you find, by forcing 
your fore-finger down into it, that the heat is moderate. Then put 
on a layer of fresh mould to about an inch thick. In" this you 
will stick little pieces of spawn of mushrooms at about eight 
inches apart every way. Cover over these with mould to about 
another inch in thickness, and pat it down nicely with a spade ; 
and still keep the covering of straw or matting over the whole bed 
as before, for neither wet not sun must get to it immoderately. 
Success now greatly depends on the proper moisture of the bed. 
If in summer-time, take off the covering now and then to admit of 
gentle showers falling on it ; or, if in a very dry season, water now 
and then. But if in winter, keep out the cold at all times. The 
in-doors method of cultivating mushrooms was introduced to this 
country from Germany. It is usually by means of a small house 
in any awkward or out-of-the-way corner of the garden, about ten 
or twelve feet wide and twenty or thirty feet long. With a fire- 
place on the outside of one end, and a flue going from it straight 
down under the middle of the floor of the house and back again 
to the fire-place ; with one door, and two or three small windows, 
which latter are generally kept shut close with unglazed shutters. 
All along the two sides of this house are shelves arranged in three 
tiers, one close to the bottom, another at about three feet up, and 
another at about six feet up, and these shelves are about three feet 



^♦l us H ROOM. 



iu breadth, made of good s lout plunk, vviJi a fiout board of iibie or 
ten inches depth to keep in the dnng and the earth. Whoever has 
seen the berths in a barrack-room, or in the state-room of a ship, 
has seen precisely what the shelves of a German mushroom-house 
are. These shelves are to be filled with the dung or compost in 
which you are to plant 3 our mushroom spawn; and, as to preparing 
compost, you proceed in this manner : take a quantity of fjesh 
horse-dung, with as little long Utter as possible ; the less the 
better ; that has not been exposed to wet, and that has not fer- 
mented ; mix it with a fourth part of fresh mould, and, if you can, 
get the scrapings of a horse-track of a mill-house of any sort ; mix 
all well together, and, in your shelves, or in as many of them as 
you mean to put to work at once, put a layer six inches thick of 
this mixture, beating it down as hard as you can with a wooden 
bat. This will reduce it down to the thinness of four inches, or 
less. Then put in another layer, rather less thick, and beat that 
down in the same way ; observing that, towards the wall at the 
back part of your shelf, you can alford to increase the thick- 
ness of your layers, as there is the wall to support them ; and 
the thicker you make these layers, the stronger will be the bed. 
Having done this, observe the fermentation from day to day, as 
it goes on, and when it is palpably on the decline, make a parcel 
of holes in the compost at from six to nine inches asunder, and 
put in the spawn ; and then cover it over with a covering of mould 
about an inch thick. Water may be given out of a very fine- 
rosed watering-pot, when the weather is very warm, and then 
it is recommended to scatter a little straw over first, and water 
on that, the mushroom being inclined to rot from any over quan- 
tity of moisture, however little. These beds are not generally of 
long duration, but particularly those in the shelves. From eight 
to twelve weeks may be looked upon as a good duration, and there- 
fore, to have mushrooms continually , there must be renewals of 
the beds, in the house and out of the house ; but a very little 
attention brings it to a regular system in the in-door method. 
The times when the vegetation of this fungus is most successful 
are the spring and fall, as with every vegetable. To procure 
spawn, you need only apply to the seedsmen, almost all of whom 
sell it ; but you may procure it and propagate it yourself, by be- 
stowmg a little care and attention on it. I>ig up, io August or 
September, a parse) of mushrooms, taking a good three or four 



KITCHEX-G ARDEN PLANTS. 



[CUAP. 



handsful of the earth immediately round them : you will find a 
quantity of small bulbs, as it were, of mushrooms, and of stuff like 
coarse thread. Put this in ridges on an old cucumber bed, and 
keep off heavy rains, and when you find that these have extended 
themselves, and are formed into a quantity of mouldy-looking 
flakes, take them up and keep them in any dry place till you want 
them, when you plant little pieces of the size of the top of your 
thumb, or a little bigger. There is some danger of mistaking 
other funguses (and less innocent ones) for mushrooms, therefore, 
observe that the mushroom comes up precisely in the form of a 
little round white button, w hich gradually opens itself, till, if per- 
mitted to stand long enough, it becomes almost flat on the top. 
It is white everywhere but on the under side of the crown, which is 
of a pale red, becoming of a brownish colour as it advances in age. 
I cannot conclude without observing that some of these funguses 
are deemed extremely unwholesome ; some people even think 
them poisonous, and that the mushroom is only the least noxious. 
I once ate about three spoonsful at table at Mr. Tiviothy Brown's 
at Peckham, which had been cooked, I suppose, in the usual way ; 
but I had not long eaten them before my whole body, face, hands 
and all, was covered with red spots c r pimples, and to such a 
degree, and coming on so fast, that the doctor who attended the 
family was sent for. He thought nothing of it, gave me a little 
draught of some sort, and the pimples went away ; but I attri- 
buted it then to the mushrooms. The next year, I had mushrooms 
in my own garden at Botley, and I determined to try the experi- 
ment whether they would have the same effect again ; but, not 
liking to run any risk, I took only a tea-spoonful, or rather a 
French cofi'ee-spoonful, which is larger than a common tea-spoon. 
They had just the same eiiect, both as to sensation and outward 
appearance ! From that day to this I have never touched mush- 
rooms, for I conclude that there must be something poisonous in 
that Avhich will so quickly produce the eftects that I have de- 
scribed, a d on a healthy and hale body like mine ; and, therefore, 
I do no: advise any one to cultivate these things. 

160. MUSTARD. — There is a ic kite-seeded sort and a hroicn- 
seeded. The ickite mustard is used in salads along with the cress, 
or pepper-grass, and is sowed and cultivated in the same way 
(see Cress). The hlack is that which the flour is made of for 
table-use. It is sowed in rows at two feet apart early in the 



v.] 



NASTURTIUM, ONION. 



spring. The plants ought to be thinned to four or live inches 
apart. Good tillage between the rows is necessary. The seed 
will be ripe in July, and then the stalks should be cut oif, and, 
when quite dry, the seed threshed out, and put by for use. 

166. NASTURTIUM.— An annual plant, with a half-red half- 
yellow flower, which has an offensive smell ; but it bears a seed 
enveloped in a fleshy pod, and that pod, taken before the seed 
becomes ripe, is used as a thing to pickle. The seed should be 
sowed very early in the spring. The plants should have pretty 
long bushy sticks put to them ; and four or five of them will bear 
a great quantity of pods. They will grow^ in almost any ground ; 
but the better the ground the fewer of them are necessary. 

167. ONION. — This is one of the main vegetables. Its uses 
are many, and they are all well know^n. The modes of cultivation 
for crop are various. I^oiir I shall mention, and by either, a good 
crop may be raised. Sow early in March. Let the ground be 
richy but not from fresh dung. Make the ground very fine ; make 
the rows a foot apart, and scatter the seed thinly aiong a drill two 
inches deep. Then fill in the drills ; and then press the earth down 
upon the seed by treading the ground all over. Then give the 
ground a very slight smoothing over with a rake. When the plants 
get to be three inches high, thin them to four inches, or to eight 
inches, if you wish to have very large onions. Keep the ground 
clear of weeds by hoeing ; but do not hoe deep, nor raise earth 
about the plants ; for these make them run to neck and not to 
hidh. When the tips of the leaves begin to be brow^n, bend down 
the necks, so that the leaves lie flat with the ground. When the 
leaves are nearly dead, pull up the onions, and lay them to dry, in 
order to be put away for winter use. Some persons, instead of 
sowing the onions all along the drill, drop four or five seeds at 
every six or seven inches' distance ; and leave the onions to grow 
thus, in clumps ; and this is not a bad way ; for they w ill squeeze 
each other out. They will not be large : but they will be ripe 
earlier, and will not run to neck. The third mode of cultivation 
is as follows : sow the onions any time between mid-May and 
mid-June, in drills six inches apart, and put the seed very thick 
along the drills. Let all the plants stand, and they will get to 
be about as big round as the top of your little-finger. Then the 
leaves will get yellow, and, when that is the case, pull up the 
onions and lay them on a board, till the sun have withered up the 

i2 



116 



KITCHEN-G AKDEN PLANTS. 



[chap 



leaves. Then take these diminutive onions, put them in a bag, 
and hang them up in a dry place till spring, taking the biggest for 
pickles. As soon as the frost is gone, and the ground dry, plant 
out these onions, in good and line ground, in rows a foot apart. 
jMake, not drillsy but liule marks along the ground ; and put the 
onions at six or eight inches apart. Do not cover them with the 
earth ; but just j^re.^s fliem down upon the mark with your thumb 
and fore-finger. The ground ought to be trodden and slightly 
raked again before you make the marks ; for no earth should rise 
up about the plants. Proceed after this as with sowed onions : 
only observe that, if any should be running up to seed, you must 
ticist down the nech as soon as you peiceive it. But observe this : 
the shorter the time that these onions have been in the ground the 
year before, ti.e less liliely will they he to run to seed. This is the 
sure way of having a large and early crop of onions, fourth 
method is one that is now generally used by the market gardeners 
round London ; and it is one by which they obtain prodigious 
crops. From the middle to the latter end of the month of August 
they sow onions, broad-cast in beds a.^d thickly, and let them sta;id 
the winter, which they will do tolerably well unless snow or water 
lay much upon them. Having the ground prepared as for the first 
method mentioned above ; that is, having it in good tilth, finely 
broken and rich, you begin planting out in the month of ]SIarch. 
The plants may be put in rows, because in this manner they are 
much more easily hoed ; but the thing to attend to most in this 
work is, to have the roots only of the plants buried ; not tl^e 
little bulb (for, small as the onion is, there will be a little white 
bulb), but merely the Jihres, fastened in the ground ; and any man 
who has seen this work done must have observed that, unless the 
ground be made very fine indeed, it is impossible to proceed with 
any certainly in this delicate operation. The labourers in the 
market gardens of this neighbourhood (Kensington) do this work 
with wonderful rapidity and exactness ; and it is common to see 
five or six acres in a piece all planted in this manner. There ^vill 
be two or three hoeiiigs v.anted according to the season and the 
state of the ground, but they should not be deep. Some of the 
plants will pipe, or run to seed, and these should eithea* have the 
pipes pulled off or twisted down. Preserving onions is an easv 
matter. Frost never hurts them, unless you more them during the 
time that they are froze?!. Any dry, airy place will therefore do. 



PARSLEY. 



117 



They should not be kept in a warm place ; for thev will heat and 
grow. The neatest way is to tie them up in ropes; that is to say, 
to tie them round sticks, or straight straw, with matting. For 
seed, pick out the finest onions, and plant them out in rich land, in 
the spring. To grow this seed upon a large scale, plough the 
land into four-feet ridges, lay plenty of dung along the furrows, 
plough the ground back over the dung, flatten the top of the ridge 
a little, and put along, on the top of the ridge, two rows of onions, 
the rows seven inches apart, and the onions seven inches apart in 
the row s. When the w eeds come, hoe the tops of the ridges with 
a small hoe, and plough lirst from and then to the ridges, two or 
three times, at the distance of two or three weeks. When the seed 
is ripe, cut off the heads and collect them in such^ way as not 
to scatter the seed. Lay them on cloths in the sun till dry as dust ; 
and then thresh out the seed, winnow it, and put it away. The seed 
will be dead ripe in August, and turnips or early York cabbages, or 
even Kidney dwarf beans, may follow upon the same ground the 
same year. In a garden there always ought to be a crop to suc- 
ceed seed-onions the same summer. There are several sorts of 
onions, of w hich the red is the hardiest and the hottest, and the 
white the teuderest and the mildest, and the best for pickling. 
The straw-coloured sort is, perhaps, the best for a main crop. 

168. PARSLEY. — Known to every human being to bear its 
seed the second }ear, and, after that, to die away. It may be 
sowed at any season when the frost is out of the ground. The 
best w ay is to sow it in spring, and in very clean ground ; because 
the seed lies long in the ground, and, if the ground be foul, the 
weeds choke the plants at their coming up. A bed of six feet 
long and four wide, the seeds sow ed in drills at eight inches apart, 
is enough for any family in the world. This would be enough 
about parsley ; but people want it all the year round. There are 
some winters that will destroy it completely if it be wholly unpro- 
tected, and there are no means of preserving it dry in the manuer 
which has been directed for other herbs. Therefoie, if you per- 
ceive sharp weather approaching, lay some peas-haulm or straw, 
not very thickly, over the bed, and do not take it off until after the 
thaw has completely taken place. The rotting of vegetables is 
occasioned by thawing ir 'he light, more than by the frost. 
When the thaw has completely taken place, the peas-haulm or the 
straw may be taken away, and, by these means, paisley mav be 



118 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



safely kept through any winter that we have in England ; for it 
can be thag kept even in America, where the frost goes down into 
the ground full four feet. 

169. PARSNIP. — As to the season of sowing, sort of land, 
preparation of ground, distances, and cultivation and tillage, pre- 
cisely the same as the carrot. But, as to preservation during 
winter, and for spring use, the Parsnip stands all frost without 
injury, and even with benefit. So that, all you want is to put up 
for winter as many as you are likely to want during a hard frost, 
and these you may put up in the same manner as directed for 
carrots and beets. If the parsnips be to stand out in the ground 
all the winter, the greens should not be cut off in the fall. To 
save the seed of the parsnip, let four or five of the plants stand 
through the next summer, or remove them to a more convenient 
spot. They will bear a great quantity of seed. When it turns 
ripe, cut the seed stalk oif, lay it upon a cloth in the sun until 
perfectly dry ; then take off the seed, put it in a paper bag, and 
put it in a very dry place : it keeps well for only one year. 

170. PEA. — This is one of those vegetables which all people 
like. From the greatest to the smallest of gardens, we always find 
peas, not to mention the thousands of acres which are grown in 
fields for the purpose of being eaten by the gardenless people of 
the tow ns. Where gardening is carried on upon a royal, or almost 
royal scale, peas are raised by means of artificial heat, in order to 
have them here at the same time that they have them in Portugal, 
which is in the months of December and January. Beneath this 
royal state, however, the next thing is to have them in the natural 
ground as early as possible ; and that may be sometimes by the 
middle of May, and hardly ever later than about the first week of 
June. The late King, George the Thrid, reigned so long, that his 
birth-day formed a sort of season with gardeners ; and, ever since 
I became a man, I can recollect that it was always deemed rather 
a sign of bad gardening if there were not green peas in the gar- 
den fit to gather on the fourth of June. It is curious that green 
peas are to be had as early in Long Island, and in the sea-board 
part of the state of New Jersey, as in England, though not sowed 
there, observe, until very late in April, while ours, to be very early, 
must be sowed in the month of December or January. It is still 
more curious that, such is the effect of habit and tradition, 
even when I \^as last in America (1819), people talked just as 



v.] 



PEA. 



119 



familiarly as in England about having green peas on the King's 
hirth-day, and were just as ambitious for accomplishing the ob- 
ject ; and I remember a gentleman, who had been a republican 
officer during the Revolutionary War, who told me that he always 
got in his garden green peas fit to eat on old Uncle George s 
hirth-day. This, however, is the general season for the coming in 
of green peas in England ; but, to have them at this season, the 
very earliest sort must be sowed ; they must be sowed, too, in 
November, or as soon after as the weather will permit, and they must 
be sowed on the south side of a wall, or of a very close and warm 
hedge, the ground not being wet in its nature by any means. The 
frosts will be very apt to cut them off, and, if the weather be mild, 
they will be apt to get so forward as to be cut off in January or 
February, They should, therefore, be kept earthed up a little on 
both sides ; and, if hard frosts approach, they should be covered 
with peas-haulm or straw, and these should be taken off as soon 
as the thaw has completely taken place. It will not do to place 
the row of peas nearer than about four feet distance from the 
wall, because they grow high, and they would interfere with, and 
do injury to, the fruit trees. Three or four rows of the very 
earliest peas might be in the border e, on the south side of the 
wall. Some more rows might be in the outer garder c, on the 
south side of the wall there. The whole of these borders need not 
be devoted to this purpose, but only such part of them as would 
be deemed requisite. A second sowing should take place a month 
or six weeks after the first ; but this may take place across the 
plat h or g. Sow again early in March, and then once in a 
month or three weeks, until the end of May. Too many should 
not be sowed at a time, and less of the tall sorts than of the low 
sorts. The manner of sowing peas is the same in all cases. You 
make a drill with a hoe, three inches deep, in ground as rich as 
you can make it, sow the peas along not too thick, put back upon 
them the earth that came out of the drill, and tread it dow^n with 
your feet pretty nearly as hard as you can, and then, especially in 
winter-time, keep a sharp look-out after the mice. When the 
peas come up, you ought, in all cases, to hoe the ground nicely 
about them, and draw a little earth to them even immediately, 
drawing up more and more earth on each side as the plants 
advance in height, until you have, at last, a little ridge, the top of 
which would he six or seven inches above the level of the ground ; 



V20 



K ITCH EN-GAP. DEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



this not only keeps them upright, but supplies them with food for 
roots that will shoot out of the stems of the plants. Peas must 
have sticks, and these sticks must be proportioned to the height 
which the sorts respectively generally attain. For the early-frame 
pea, two feet and a half, or three feet, above the ground, is suffi- 
cient ; for the next in height* four or five feet. For the tall 
sorts, from six to eight, and even nine feet. The distances at 
which the rows are to be sowed must be somewhat in pro- 
portion to these heights, the smaller peas may stand at three 
feet apart, but the tailer ones, and especially the tall ones 
of all, ought to be at six or seven feet apart at the least. 
You get nothing by crowding them, nor do you get any- 
thing by sowing double instead of single rows of peas. If 
vou trv it, vou will lind that a' single plant, standing out 
awav from all others, will produce more fruit than any six 
plants standing in a common single row, though the soil be the 
same, an:! though the stick be of the same height. This is enough 
to convince any one of the mischievous effects of crowding. If 
you plant the taller peas at distances t o close, or indeed any 
peas, the rows shade one another ; there will be no fruit except 
just at the top, that part of the plant which should bear early will 
not bear at all, those that come at top will be pods only about half 
full : and if you plant tall peas so close, and with sticks so short 
as to cause the wet to bend the heads of the plants down, you will 
literally have no fruit at all, a thing which I have seen take place 
a hundred times in my life-time. My gardener had once sowed, 
while I was from home, a piece of garden w ith the tall marrowfat 
pea, and had put the rows at about three feet apart. I saw^ them 
just after they came up. The ground was such as was verv sood, 
and which I knew would send the peas up very high : I told him 
to take his hoe and cut up every other row ; but they looked so fine 
and he was so obstinate, that I let them remain, and made him 
sow some more at seven feet apart very near to the same place, 
tel ing him that there never could be a pea there, and that if it so 
turned out, never to aiiempt to have his own \^ay again. Both 
the patches of peas were sticked in due time, they both grew verv 
fine and lofty : but his patch began to get together at the top, and 
just about the time that the pods were an inch long, there came a 
heavy rain, smashed the whole of them down into one mass, and 
there never v^as a single pea gathered from the patch, while the 



PENNYROYAL, POTATO. 



121 



other patch, the single rows of which were seven feet apart, produced 
an uncommonly fine and lasting crop. The destroyed patch of peas 
M as however of precious advantage ; for it made me the master of 
my gardener y a thing that happens to very few owners of gardens. 
A sufficient distance is one of the greatest things in the raising of 
peas, whether they be sticked or whether they be not ; and they 
never ought to be sowed too thickly in the row. I never tried it, 
but I verily believe that a row of peas, each plant being at two or 
three inches' distance from the other, would bear a greater crop 
than if so\'\ed in the usual way. At any rate, never sow too thick, 
on any account, at any time of the year. As to sorts of peas, the 
earliest is the early-frame, then comes the early -char It on, then 
the hliie-prussian, and the hot-spicr, then the die arf -mar row fat, 
then the tall-marrowfat, then knighfs pea. There are several 
others, but here are quite enough for any garden in the world. If 
all these tall sorts be sowed in March, and some more of them 
again in April, not too many at a time, they vvill come in o e 
after another, and will keep up a regular succession until about 
the latter end of July, or even later. After this all peas become 
mildewed, and their fruit good for very little. As to saving the 
seed of peas, it is impossible to do it well in a kitchen-garden, 
where youSnust always have more than one sort of pea in bloom 
at the same time. If you be very curious about this matter, you 
must sow somewhere in the corner of a field, and not gather any of 
the peas to eat ; but let them all stand to ripen. When ripe, they 
are to be threshed out and put by in a dry place. Peas want no 
watering, but there should be a good digging between the rows 
just about the time that the bloom begins to appear, for that fur- 
nishes new food to the roots at the time when it is most wanted. 
Great care must be taken to keep slugs and snails away from peas ; 
for, if they get amongst them and are let alone for a very little 
Mhile, they bite the whole off, and they never sprout again to any 
good purpose. 

171. PENNYROYAL.— A medicinal herb, that is perennial. 
It is also used for some few culinary purposes. A little patch a 
foot square, in the herb bed, is quite sufficient. 'You must keep 
this patch well cut off round the edges ; for one root, if left alone 
for a summer, will extend over two or three yards square in good 
ground. 

172. POTATO. — I am going to speak here of this vegetable, 



122 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap 



as a thing to be used merely in company with meat ; and not to 
be used as a substitute for hread, having proved, in various parts 
of my writings, and proved it beyond all contradiction, that, as a 
substitute for bread it is the most wasteful thing that can possi- 
bly be used. It has, too, now been acknowledged by various 
writers, and it has been established by evidence taken before 
Committees of the House of Commons, that to raise potatoes 
for the purpose of being used instead of bread is a thing 
mischievous to the nation. As a subsitude for bread, there- 
fore, I speak not of the fruit of this plant. As food for cattle or 
pigs, I know it to be inferior to cabbages, to Swedish turnips, to 
mangel-wurzel, and to be much more expensive, weight for weight, 
than either of those ai tides. I know of no animal that wall even 
live for any length of time upon uncooked potatoes, while I know- 
that sheep and horned cattle will live, and even fat, to a certain 
extent, upon eithter cabbages, mangel-wurzel, or Swedish turnips ; 
and while I know that pigs will live and thrive upon either of these 
articles, neither of which, weight for weight, demand half the expease 
that the potatoes demand. As a mere vegetable or sauce, as the 
country people call it, it does very well to qualify the effects of fat 
meat, or to assist in the swallowing of quantities of butter. There 
appears to be nothing unwholesome about it, and when the sort is 
good, it is preferred by many people to some other vegetables of 
the coarser kind ; and though I never eat of it myself, finding so 
many other things far preferable to it, I think it right to give direc- 
tions for the cultivation of the plant upon a scale suitable to a 
gentleman's garden. There are an infinite variety of sorts ; the skin 
of some of which is red, that of others of a w hitish-yellow colour : 
the first are denominated red potatoes, and the latter white. The red 
potatoes are of the coarser kinds, as are also several of the white. 
Those who plant these things in gardens and for their own use, 
wi 1 not plant the coarse ones. I shall speak of only three sorts. 
First, of a little round white potato, which comes very early, or 
rather, is but a very short time in coming to perfection. The 
second sort are called ladies-fingers, being long and about an inch 
through when in their usual full size, and tiiese ako are white. 
The other sort are called kidney-potatoes , which grow to a pretty 
large size, are flat, and very much in the shape of a kidney. This is 
the sort which is planted for the main crop to be preserved during 
^he winter. They have generally a small part at one end of them 



POTATO. 



123 



of a reddish purple colour, which is the sign of their genuine quality. 
As to the planting and cultivation of potatoes, they are, in the 
fields, laid along a little trench made by the plough, then covered 
with manure of some sort, and then covered over with a furrow of 
eaith. Some people lay the potato upon the manure, in place of 
under it. In a garden the ground ought to be rich enough to bear 
potatoes w ithout any manure at all ; for the manure, though it adds 
to the number of potatoes, makes the size of them very various, and, 
as in all other cases, gives a strong taste to the vegetable. Drills 
made with a hoe three feet apart and four inches deep, the sets laid 
along the drill, at eight inches apart, then covered over with the 
earth that came out of the drill and trod down with the foot, are 
sufficient for the planting. But care must be taken to prepare 
the sets properly. The potato must be cut in pieces, and there 
must be but one eye, or two at most, left to each piece. A very 
small part of the pulp is necessary to be left. It is the eye only 
which grows, and if a potato were peeled pretty deeply, the peel- 
ing itself would do ; and it is a common practice, amongst the 
poorer people, to eat the potato and plant bits of the peelings ; but 
it has been found, by the Lancashire potato-growers, that it is of 
importance to reject those eyes which are seated nearest the root- 
end of the potato ; that is, nearest the end which is joined on to 
the root of the plant ; for they have observed that these produce 
their fruit full a fortnight later than sets cut from the middle and 
point of the potato. I have never tried this experiment myself, 
and therefore am not prepared to vouch for the correctness of the 
statement upon my own observation ; but I can vouch for this 
fact, that potatoes are grown to perfection by the Lancanshire 
people, and therefore I would pay attention to any of their sug- 
gestions, in this matter. As to the cultivation, as soon as the plants 
are up, and are three inches high, the whole of the ground should 
be flat-hoed, and should be carefully moved close to the stems of 
the plants ; but do no more than this for the early crop, for, 
though earthing-up is required to give a full crop, it certainly 
retards it ; and, as your object now is to have some potatoes 
without regard to quantity, it is best to make a little sacrifice 
here. For your later crops, when the plants get to be seven 
or eight inches high, they should have earth drawn up to their 
stems with a hoe, going along the interval and drawing the 
earth from the middle to form little ridges about four inches 



124 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[ C U A P . 



high. As the plants advance in height, more earth should be 
drawn up to them, and when they are about a foot iiigh above the 
top of the ridge, the intervals should be well dug with a spade, 
and the earth well broken. After this, a little more earth shoulJ 
be drawn up to the plants, the heads of which w ould begin to fall 
down and spread about, and all that will be wanted, in future, will 
be to pull out any weeds that appear. In the fall of the year the 
leaves will drop off and the haulm will die ; and when this death 
of the haulm take place, the potatoes should be dug up. I am 
now speaking of the kidney potatoes which are to be kept for win- 
ter use : and they should not be planted too early : because they w ill 
be ripe too early in the fall, and will not keep so well through the 
winter, and until the spring. The. last week in April, or the tirst or 
even the second week, in jNlay, is quite soon enough to plant. The 
crop will then be tit to take up in the latter end of October, w hich 
is quite soon enough. When taken up, they should, if the weather 
will permit, be suffered to dry in the sun : all the dirt should be 
rubbed clean from tliem ; they should then be placed in a cellar, 
in a barn, or in some place to \\hich no frost can approach ; if vou 
can ascertain the degree of warmth just necessaiy to keep a babv 
fiom perishing from cold, you know^ precisely the precautions 
required to preserve a potato above-ground ; for, under-ground, 
they will lie safe and sound during the whole winter, if placed 
individually, if the frost do not actually reach them. I know of 
no other seed or root ; I know of no apple even ; I know of no 
loaved cabbage, that will not bear freezing, if covered over with 
the ground. I have, this 3 ear, had a piece of ground in which 
potatoes (planted by my predecessor) grew last year, covered over 
tw^enty times by the overflowings of the Thames, and, when this 
piece of ground w^as dug up in the spring, the potatoes were as 
sound and as fresh as ever. We did not perceive one single rot- 
ten potato in the whole piece. There was a great qua ntity, and 
the men who dug the ground took them home to eat. But if above- 
ground, your care must be great, especially if the heap be consi- 
derable. There must be no rotten ones, and no cut or broken 
ones. The heap may feriiieut. and then rottenness will come : 
you must therefore be careful to turn it over frequently and pick 
out every thing approaching towards rottenness. Potatoes are 
frequently kept in heaps formed in a conical shape on the ground, 
and covered over with straw and earth: but this i^ a tiling that 



v.] 



POTATO. 



cannot be required in a case like that which I have in view. The 
ladies-fingers, which are certainly more delicate in taste than the 
kidney-potatoes, may be planted at the same time, and treated in 
the same manner ; and they will be better than the larger potatoes 
all through the winter, though the crop will not be so large. Some 
of these, however, if planted early in ]March, will be very good for 
use from the end of June to the latter end of the summer. As to 
the first sort, the little round white early potatoes, they may be 
raised so as to be fit to eat in June, and even earlier. This sort 
of potato has no blossom. It is a small round white potato, the 
leaf of which is of a pale green, very thin, very smooth, and nearly 
of the shape and size of the inside of a middle-sized lemon cut 
asunder longways. This potato, if planted with other sorts in 
March or April, \^ ill be ripe six weeks sooner than any other sort. 
The ladies-fingers come much quicker than the kidneys ; but 
the early potato comes much quicker still. If you once get this 
sort, and wish to keep it true, you must take care that no other 
sort grow near it ; for potatoes mix the breed more readily than 
any thing else, though in this case there be no bloom. It is 
very diiiicult, for this reason, to get this sort true aud unmixed. 
If these potatoes be planted early in IMarch, or late in Februarv, 
it should be in w arm and dry ground : and you must take care to 
cover the ground where they are planted w ith litter or straw, if you 
perceive that frosts are approaching, for if the root be once frosted 
it immediately becomes v.ater. You may dig up some of these 
potatoes in June as big as walnuts or bigger. They are not ripe 
in June ; but they may be ripe by the latter end of July ; thev in- 
crease in size as you go on, and the quantity need not be large, 
for, by the time these are exhausted, the ladies-fingers come in for 
use. A small quantity will be enough for seed for the next year. 
You should pick out five or six of the truest plants to stand for 
seed ; when the haulm dies, take up the roots ; put them bv care- 
fully, and preserve them till spring. If you wish to have potatoes 
still earlier than this, you must resort to artificial heat. One way 
of doing this is as follows : dig out the earth in the border oppo- 
site the south side of a w all, but at four or five feet from it in order 
to give room for the operations to be performed. Take the earth 
out to the depth of two feet, and make a hot-bed there of good 
and rather long du ig, causing the bed to rise about a foot above 
the level of the ground. Put part of the earth upon this bed, and 



126 



K I T C H E N - C A R DEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



lav the rest as a bank on each side of it. Give the bed a little time 
to heat and to sink, and have the earth upon the bed about eight 
or nine inches deep. Plant the sets of potatoes in the earth upon 
this bed, and about six inches down into that earth. The sets may 
be put in at about a foot apart, and then yon may sow all over the 
bed radishes, onions, and lettuces. These will come up immedi- 
atelv, and the management of the bed is this. In the first place, 
vou put hoops across it, leaving about eighteen inches between 
every tw^o hoops ; then tie straight and smooth sticks, long- 
ways of the bed upon the hoops ; then have mats good and 
^sound, to lay over the hoops ; and the bed ought to be of the 
width that a mat will completely cover. At all times, when the 
radishes will bear the open air, that is to say, when there is no 
frost, the mats ought to be oif in the day-time ; and, if it be extra- 
ordinarily warm for the season, and you are sure that no frost will 
come in the night, they may be off in the night ; for, if the plants 
be drawn up, the radishes, lettuces, and onions, will come to 
nothing, and the potatoes will be spindling and will not produce. 
By the time that the radishes have been all drawn and used, the 
potatoes will have come up, and will have attained the height of 
six or seven inches : the young onions will have been used also, 
and the lettuce plants taken away and planted out in the open 
ground ; so that the potatoes only will remain, and these w ill be 
fit for use in ^lay, and perhaps early in May. Under the head 
of radishes, I shall have to speak of a mode of getting potatoes 
still earlier than this, though perhaps this is as early as anv one 
need wish for. The bed need not be long. From twelve to 
twenty feet is perhaps enough for any family. After the potatoes 
are used, the earth should be drawn oft' the bed, the dung taken 
out and applied to the manuring of the garden, the earth put back 
again to the place whence it was dug out, and the ground applied 
to the producing of some crop for the latter end of the Summer. 
Potatoes may be raised from seed, that is to say, from the round 
pods that grow upon the haulm ; and from these seeds new varie- 
ties come, as in the case of the strawberry and many other 
things. The pods should be gathered when dead ripe. The pods 
should be squeezed to pieces, the seed separated from the pulp, 
made very dry, kept dry till April or early in May. They should 
be sowed in little drills, two feet asunder, the plants thinned out to 
a foot apart, they should be cultivated like other potatoes, and 



■] 



PUMPKIN, RADISH. 



127 



they will produce little roots fit to plant out for a crop next 
spring. Few people take the pains to do this, the sorts being 
already as numerous as the stones of the pavement of a large city. 

173. PUMPKIN. — A thing little used in England, but of great 
use in hot countries. They are of various sorts, the fruit of some 
of which are of immense size, and the fruit of others in veiy 
common use in the making of pies, where however they require 
the assistance of cream, sugar, nutmeg, and other spices ; but, 
when so prepared, are very pleasant things. They are by no 
means bad cattle food, especially for milch cows, during two 
months in the fall of the year ; and I have no doubt that they 
would produce twenty ton weight upon an acre of land. The 
time for planting them in the natural ground is the middle of ^lay. 
They are not so sensible of frost as the cucumber. They will be 
up in the first week of June, and you have nothing to do but to 
keep the ground clear of weeds. The best way is to put three or 
four seeds in a clump, and put the clumps at ten or twelve feet 
apart. The runners should have a proper direction given to them, 
should be fastened down to the ground with pegs at every two or 
three feet, and the runners will then send new roots down into the 
ground. You know when the pumpkins are ripe by tiieir tinming 
yellow, and striped, and when the leaves begin to die. If you wisb 
to save the seed, you must let the pumpkin be quite ripe, and then 
manasie the seed as in the case of the cucumber. Different sorts 
must not grow near one another. If they do, they will mix. 

174. PURSLANE. — A mischievous weed, eaten by Ereocbmea 
and pigs when they can get nothing else. Both use it in salad, 
that is to say, raw. 

175. RADISH. — There are two distinct species of radishes, the 
tap-rooted, and the turnip-rooted. Of the latter, there are red and 
white. The former are all red ; some, how^ever, of a deeper dye 
than others. The great thing in the case of radishes is to have 
them early in the Spring, and, for this purpose, the tap-rooted 
kinds only are used, as they come quicker than others. In the 
open natural ground, radishes are sowed in the latter end of 
February, or early in March, and a few once a fortnight, until the 
beginning of May. If sowed later than that, they are hot and 
disagreeable, and very few people care for them. The turnip- 
rooted sorts should be of the latest sowings ; bat even they be- 
come hot, if sowed after the first of May. I should hardly prevail 



IQS KiTCHi:X-G ARDEN PLANTS. [CUAP. 

upon aLiybody to sow radishes in little drills as directed for cab- 
bages ; but that is the best way ; and, as soon as they are up, 
they should be thinned to an inch apart ; for, if thicker, you gam 
nothing in point of quantity, and you loose in point of quickness in 
coming. They should be sowed in shallow drills six inches apart, 
thinned to an inch apart in the drill as soon as they come up, and 
the ground should be kept clear of weeds by a little hoe. We 
have seen how radishes may be had early by sowing them upon a 
potato-bed ; if you wish to have them still earlier, you must make 
a bed on purpose, and cover it with a frame and glass. The 
manner of making a hot-bed has been described in Chapter III. 
A bed for radishes, made as early as December, if you like, need 
not be so strong as a bed for early cucumbers. Proceed, in the 
making of the bed, in just the same manner as directed for cucum- 
bers ; but you need not make the bed to be above three feet high. 
You must let the heat be gone off more in this case than in the 
case of cucumbers, before you put on the mould ; and, before you 
put on the mould for radishes, take all the lights olF the bed for a 
whole day, unless in case of severe frosts, snow or rain. Put the 
mould on eight inches deep ; or, if it be nine inches, it is better 
still. The mould should be made very fine, and it should be rich 
without dung. There is no room to spare in a hot-bed, and, 
therefore, you should make the drills v.ith 3'Our finger about 
two inches apart, and put the seed along in the drills in a very 
even manner. When the plants come up, thin them to an inch 
apart. That will give you seventy-two radishes ; that is to say, 
six dozen upon every square foot ; and, if your frame be t\A elve 
feet long and four feet wide, this hot-bed will give you two hun- 
dred and eighty-eight bunches, a dozen in a bunch. Now mind, 
your success will depend upon two things. Keeping out frost, and 
giving all the air that you can possibly give, without letting in the 
frost. If it be fine open weather, whether wet or dry, the lights 
should be taken entirely off during the day ; and even in sharpish 
weather there should be plenty of air given in the day time. In 
open weather, there should be air given by night as well as by day ; 
and the lights should be entirely off in the day-time, except in frosty 
weather, or during very heavy rains. For, if your radishes be dra^vn 
up, they will come to nothiag; and they will be drawn up unless they 
have plenty of air. The heat of the bed v. ill, in time, diminish so 
much as to let in the frost in a severe w inter. In such weather, thei e- 



v.] 



RADISH. 



129 



fore, you must line the bed in the same manner as is directed for 
cucumbers. As to covering, in sharpish weather, a single mat 
over the glass will do. It seldom happens that more than a double 
mat could be required for a radish-bed ; but, if the bed become 
cool, there must be covering sufficient to keep out the frost ; this 
is to remain on, however, for as short a time as possible ; and, 
even during a hard frost, if the sun come out, the lights should 
be taken off during the time that the sun is within two hours of its 
highest pitch ; for, in this country, it never, I believe, freezes in the 
sun, and to keep away frost is all that you require in the way of 
covering. Two square feet, or tour at most, in one corner of the 
frame, will give you mustard and cress a plenty for salads, if you 
take care to make repeated sowings in proper time. In this bed early 
potatoes may be planted in the manner directed for the potato- 
bed mentioned under the head of the potato. A few young onions 
may be raised here also to be eaten green ; and also some lettuce- 
plants, to be removed about the time that the radishes are all 
drawn. In just the same way, and with a bed of about the same 
strength, earli/ carrots may be raised. Some people like them, 
and the trouble is a great deal less than any one would imagine^ 
seeing that it requires so many words to explain the method of 
doing the thing. Now, as to the sorts of radishes for the hot-bed, 
there are two, the early scarlet, and the early short-top : the co- 
lour of the former is indicated by its name, that of the latter is 
between a red and a purple. Some tastes prefer one sort, and 
some the other. I know no difference in the flavour : the scarlet is 
the most pleasing to the eye, and is therefore the sort that market 
gardeners cultivate ; but the short-top is the earliest ; that is to say, 
the quickest in coming to perfection ; or, at least, I think so ; for I 
never actually tried one against the other ; and they certainly eat 
more crisp than the scarlet. The finest radish of all for the 
flavour, as well as for crispness, is called the salmon-radish, from 
its colour being precisely that of salmon when in season ; but it 
does not come so quickly as the other two sorts. If you have the 
early radishes in beds, the salmon-radish ought to be the first to 
sow in the open ground. With regard to the turnip-rcoted sorts, 
they are all greatly inferior, in point of flavour, to the tap-rooted ; 
and, as to the black Spanish radish, it is a coarse thing that will 
stand the winter about as well as a turnip ; and is very little supe- 
rior to a turnip in point of flavour. It is called a radish, and may 

K 



130 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



be had with hardly any trouble even in the winter time ; but it is 
in fact, not ht to eat. In all sowings of radishes, the greatest care 
must be taken to keep away the birds, until the radishes be fairly 
up, and even begin to show rough leaf ; for they are extremely 
fond of these seeds, and they are sowed at a season of the year 
when bird-food is scarce. The sparrows will see you when you are 
sowing, will know very well what you are at ; and, though you bury 
the seeds very safely, they will w^atch the first peeping up of the 
head, and you will not have a single radish, if you sow in winter 
or early in the spring, unless you take the proper precautions to 
keep olf the birds. When you take the lights off the hot-bed of 
radishes, you must cover the bed over with a net. When you tilt 
up the lights to give air, the birds will go in unless you hang nets 
over the opening. The market-gardeners, who want great quan- 
tities of radishes pretty early in the spring, sow them in the month 
of January in the natural ground in warm situations. As soon as 
they have sowed, they cover the beds with straw, half a foot thick. 
Under this straw, the radishes, sheltered from the frost, come up ; 
and then the straw is taken off in the day-time, and put on again 
at night ; and this opening by day, and covering by night, is kept 
up until mild weather come in March, when the radishes are fit to 
take up for sale. The same may be done in a private garden ; but 
the straw makes a great litter about the ground : it makes a pretty 
place ugly, and the advantage is not sufficient to counterbalance the 
eye-sore. Radish-seed, like all others, becomes untrue, if plants of 
different sorts bloom and ripen their seed near each other. This, 
therefore, must be guarded against ; if you want to save seed, 
refrain from drawing a few of the very earliest of your radishes ; 
let them stand in the bed until the middle of March or first of 
April : then take them up, transplant them into the natural ground^ 
and they will well ripen their seed during the summer. Though, 
observe, they will not ripen all their seed ; for, like the beet, the 
buck^^ heat, and many other plants, they continue to blow long 
after part of their seed is nearly ripe. Therefore, if you were to 
stop till all the seed ripened, before you gathered any, you would 
stand a chance to lose the whole ; for the birds would have eaten 
the first seed long before ail the flowers were off the plant. The 
best way, therefore, is to pull up the plants when the first seed is 
ripe ; and that gives you plenty of time to put the whole plant to 
lie and wither in the sun, without which, too, it is very difficult to 



RHUBARB. 



1.31 



get the seed out of the pods. A very good way is, first to make 
the whole plant, pods and all, dry in the sun, and then to hang the 
plant up by the heels in some dry and airy place, and rub the seed 
out of the pods as you want it. In the pod, it will keep a great 
many years, perhaps twenty, and perhaps fifty ; but out of the pod 
it will keep well not above two. 

176. RAMPION.'-This is the smallest seed of which we have 
any knowledge. A thimble-full, properly distributed, would sow- 
an acre of land. It is sowed in the spring, in very fine earth. Its 
roots are used in soup and salads. Its leaves are also used in salads. 
One yard square is enough for any garden. 

177. RAPE. — This field-plant for sheep: but it is very 
good to sow like white mustard, to use as salad, and it is sowed 
and raised in the same way. 

178. RHUBARB. — The cZocA, which is a mischievous weed, 
is the native English rhubarb. Its name is found in the list of 
seeds in Chapter IV., because that list is the same as the list in 
my American Gardener ; and, in America, dock-leaves are eaten 
in the spring, and are carried to market in great quantities to be 
sold. But, in this country, W'here the winter does not sweep every 
thing green from the face of the earth, nobody thinks of cultivating 
the dock, which is one of the most mischievous weeds that we 
have. In that list also is the dandelion ; because that plant also 
is used as greens in the spring ; and, if the plants be fine, and you 
lay a tile or bit of board upon them to bleach them, or tie them up 
as directed for endive, they make very good salad in the month of 
April ; but, not being worth cultivation in a garden, and being a 
mere weed, they have not been mentioned by me as articles to be 
cultivated. I am now to speak, not of the dock, but of the foreign 
rhubarb, of which there are two sorts, the stalks of the leaves of 
the one being pretty nearly red, and those of the leaves of the 
other being of a greyish green colour. The latter is the finer of 
the two, grows larger than the other, and the flavour is better. 
The uses of the rhubarb are very well known, and it is known also 
that the only part used is the inside of the stalk of the leaf, which 
is fit for use towards the latter end of April, when it supplies, by 
anticipation, the place of green gooseberries in all the various 
modes in which these latter are applied. The propagation of the 
rhubarb maybe either from seed or from offsets. It bears seed in 
prodigious abundance, and that seed precisely resembles the seed of 
the dock. It is sowed any time in the spring, in the same manner 

K 2 



132 



KITCHEN-GARDEX PLANTS. 



[chap. 



as directed for cabbages, and when the plants come up, they ought 
to be thinned to six inches apart in the row. In the fall, the plants 
are taken up and planted in rows at three feet apart, and two feet 
apart in the row. During the first summer after this, none of the 
leaves ought to be stripped off for use. If the plants throw up 
seed-stalks, these should be kept cut down. During this summer, 
the plants will become veiT strong, and the next spring they will 
produce leaves, the stalks of which will be fit for use. They will 
stand and flourish for any length of time on the same spot, and 
their produce will be prodigious. When taken off for use, their 
leaves should be stripped oft^, and not cut. It is perfectly hardy, 
and all that it requires is digging the ground in the intervals and 
between the plants in the month of November, and again early in 
April, and giving a moderate supply of manure, once in Uvo years. 
If propagated from offsets ; that is to say, shoots taken off from 
the sides of the old stools, the offsets ought to be planted at the 
distance before directed ; and, if they be stout, and planted out in 
the fall, you may begin using the leaves the next spring. 

179. ROSEMARY is a beautiful little shrub. One of them 
may be enough in a garden. It is propagated from slips, taken off 
in the spring and planted in a cool place. 

180. RUE. — Still more beautiiul. Propagated in the same 
manner. One plant of the kind is enough. 

181. RUTA-BAGA.— (See Turnip.) 

182. SAGE is raised from seed, or from slips. To have it at 
hand for winter, it is necessary to dri/ it ; and it ought to be cut 
for this purpose, before it comes out into hloonij as, indeed, is the 
case with all other herbs. 

183. SALSAFY. — The seed of the salsafy veiy nearly resembles 
that of the wild oat. It is a tap-rooted plant, resembUng the 
parsnip in colour, and not very much unlike it in flavour. It is 
usually sowed late in February or early in March, in drills a foot 
apart, and, when the plants come up, they are thinned to six 
inches apart in the row. Hoeing between to keep down the weeds 
is all that is required. Though it is usually sowed so early in the 
spring, it ought not to be sowed till ^lay, and even the middle of 
May ; for, if sowed earlier, many of the plants will run up to seed, 
and then thev become good for nothing for use. It is as hardy as the 
parsiiip. It stands in the ground all the winter, without the smallest 
injury, and need not be taken up to be put in house except as a 
preacution against frost. Some people let part of their plants stand 



SORREL. 



153 



unti'. the spring, when they send up their see i-sh(,iots very earlv, 
Avhich are cropped off and used in the same manner as jfsparagus. 
Two or three plants left to rmi up to seed will be sufficient. The 
seed-pods, when ripe, should be cropped off, made perfectly dry in 
the sun, and then put by and preserved in a dry place. 

184. SAMPHIRE is propagated from seed or from offsets. It 
is peremiial, and is sometimes used as a pickle, or in salads. The 
time for sowing is April, and the same time may do for putting out 
the offsets. It is, however, an insignificant thing, and hardly 
worth serious attention. 

183. SAVORY. — Two sorts, summer and icinter ; the former 
is annual, the latter perennial. Both may be propagated from 
seed, sowed in a little patch early in spring ; but the latter may 
also be propagated from offsets. To have these herbs in winter 
with the least possible trouble and in the greatest possible perfec 
tion, they should be cut and dried in the manner directed for sage. 

186. SAVOY.— (See Cabhage.) 

187. SCORZEXERA. — This is only another kind of salsafv, 
growing a little larger than the salsafy, the root being of a dark 
colour on the°outside, instead of being of a whitish colour, and it is 
propagated and cultivated and used in precisely the same manner 
as the salsaf}-. 

188. SHALOT. — A little perennial onion, propagated from 
seed, if you please, but much more easily propagated from offsets, 
like the garlick, which it perfectly resembles in the manner of its 
growing. The offsets ought to be planted out in rows six or eight 
inches apart, in the month of March, and the plants ought to 
stand four inches apart in the row. The ground should not be 
wet at bottom, and should be kept very clean during the summer. 
As soon as the leaves die, the bulbs should be taken up and made 
perfectly dry in the sun : then tied in bunches and hung up to be 
preserved in a dry place. 

189. SKIRRIT is a plant very little known now-a-days ; but, if 
any one has a mind to cultivate it, the manner of doing it is the 
same as that directed for the salsafy. It is, however, a perennial, 
and may be propagated from offsets. 

190. SORREL. — This is no other than the wild sorrel cultivated. 
The French, who call it oseille, make large messes of it. But a 
short row is quite enough for an English garden. It is perennial. 
iVIay be propagated from seeds, but much more readily from offsets. 



134 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



191. SPINAGE. — Every one knows the use of this excellent 
plant. Pigs, who are excellent judges of the relative qualities of 
vegetables, will leave cabbages for lettuces, and lettuces for spi- 
nage. Gardeners make two sorts of spinage, though I really be- 
lieve there is but one. One sort they call round spinage, and the 
other prickly spmage, the former they call summer spinage, and 
the latter winter : but I have sowed them indiscriminately, and 
have never perceived any difference in their fitness to the two sea- 
sons of the year. The spinage is an annual plant, produces its 
seed and ripens it well even if sowed so late as the month of May. 
It may be as well to sow the round spinage for summer, and the 
prickly spinage for winter, but the time of sowing and the man- 
ner of cultivating are the only things of importance ; and great 
attention should be paid to these, this being a most valuable plant 
all the year round, but particularly in the winter and the spring. 
It has something delightfully refreshing in *ts taste, and is to be 
had at a time when nothing but mere greens or brocoli is to be 
had. It far surpasses them both, in my opinion, the use of it rievei 
being attended with any of those inconveniences as to bodily health 
which is the case wdth both the others. In the summer there are 
plenty of other things ; but for the winter crop, due provision should 
always be made. The time for sowing for the winter crop, if the 
ground be good, is the last week in August, and if the ground be 
poor, a fortnight earlier. Sow in shallow drills, eight inches apart, 
and thin the plants to six inches apart in the row : keep them 
clear of weeds, hoe about them before winter sets in, and draw the 
earth close up to the stems of the plants, taking care that the dirt 
do not fail into the hearts. The ground should be rather of the 
drier description ; for if wet, and the winter be severe, the plants 
will be killed. They will have fine leaves in the month of Novem- 
ber, or before : for use, the outside leaves should be taken off first, 
or rather, these only should be taken off, leaving all the rest, and 
they should be pinched off with the finger and the thumb close to 
the stem of the plant. The plant will keep growing, more or less, 
all the winter, except in very hard weather, and wall keep on yield- 
ing a supply from the beginning of November to the latter end of 
May, when the seed stalks will begin to rise, and when the sum- 
mer spinage , sowed in the latter end of February, and cultivated in 
the same way as the former, will be ready to supply their place. 
About the first of May, another sowing oi summer spinage should 



SQUASH. 



135 



take place ; but this will be generally supplanted by peas, beans, 
and other summer crops. If, however, the reader wish, like me, 
to have it all the summer, he must sow again in the month of 
June, and again in the month of July. These two latter sowings 
being made in the coolest and least sunny part of the garden. As 
to saving the seed of the spinage, a few plants of each sort will be 
sufficient. The plants must be pulled up before the seed be dead 
ripe, or the birds will have every grain. It is a coarse-looking 
seed, with a thick husk upon it ; but the small birds are very fond 
of it, and will begin to hammer it out of the husks while these 
are still green. The seed-plants, when pulled up, should be laid 
in the sun to become perfectly dry, and the seed should be then 
rubbed off and put by in a dry place. 

192. SQUASH, sometimes called Vegetable Marrow ; and, 
though the thing is certainly very good as a vegetable, and the 
former name not very flattering, the latter is certainly beyond its 
merits. This plant, or rather this tribe of plants, is of the pump- 
kin kind. There are several sorts, some for summer use and some 
for winter use. The summer kinds that I have are thejiat hush, 
the long hush, the crooked-necked hush ; that is to say, they grow 
upright and branch out like a little bush ; whereas the winter sorts 
run upon the ground like cucumbers and melons. The time for 
sowing all the sorts, in England, is about the middle of May in 
the south, and perhaps the first week in June in the north. The 
squash is not so tender as the cucumber, and will stand any little 
frosts that we have in Jiuie, though such frosts check them in their 
growth. To have them early, they should be sowed in a gentle 
hot-bed in April. Put out into pots in the manner directed for 
cucumbers. They should be topped, while in the pots, in the 
manner directed for cucumbers : about the middle of May, the 
pots should be taken out and sunk in the natural ground, and a 
frame set over them, or they should have a covering of hoops and 
mats for the night-time, just to keep off the frosts. About the 
middle of June, they should be planted out in the open level 
ground, which need not be exceedingly rich. The distance for the 
bush sorts ought to be five feet at the least, and for the running 
sorts, of which I have the white winter squash, and the hell-shaped 
winter squash, should be six feet at the least. The ground should 
be kept very clean. When the plants are put out of the pots tlie 
balls should be sunk in the ground to a level with the grouiul, a 



136 



KITCHEN-GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



little water should be given to each ball after it is fixed in the 
earth, and a little dry earth should be drawn up round the stems 
of the plants to the height of the seed-leaf. In about a fortnight, 
a very nice hoeing should be given to the w hole of the ground. In 
another fortnight, a very nice digging to the whole of the ground, 
and the summer sorts will begin to produce for use, by the latter 
end of July. If the first crop fail, or appear to be likely to fail, 
you may sow^ again in July, and even in August ; that is to say, 
the summer sorts, and I dare say, the winter sorts too, but I have 
no experience upon that head. I sowed some in the month of 
August last year, about five-and-twenty plants in number, and had 
bushels of squashes fit for use before the frost came. All the bush 
squashes are of a yellow colour before they are fit for use, though 
I have seen them in the markets in England for sale when still 
green. Of all the sorts, the flat-bush is the best for the summer, 
and the long white for the winter. The manner of cooking them 
is very simple. They are merely washed clean, and boiled for 
about twenty minutes ; but by running a fork into them, you know 
when they are done in the same way that you judge in the case of 
a turnip. The summer sorts must not hang on the plant long, 
except you w ish to save the seed. You soon discover what is their 
usual size, and as soon as they arrive at that, they are fit to be 
gathered. They require no peeling as a turnip does : and if they 
be (as the winter squashes will be) much larger than they are 
wanted for one time, you may cut a part ofi", and leave the rest for 
use another day. They are certainly far preferable to the best of 
turnips ; and though they are not actually marrow, they are a very 
delightful vegetable, and their produce is prodigious. If well cul- 
tivated, I dare say that a single plant of the fiat bush squash would 
produce a bushel of fruit ; but, like the cucumber and all other 
plants of the same description, if you wish the plant to continue 
producing for a long while, you must take care to gather every 
fruit as soon as it becomes fit for use, and before it begins to ripen 
its seed. The small ones, that is to say, the fruit gathered at a 
very early stage, when not much bigger than a large walnut, for 
instance, make excellent pickles, much better than cucumbers. If 
}0U wish to save the seed, you must proceed in exactly the same 
manner as directed in the case of the cucumber. 

193. TANSEY. — A perennial culinary and medicinal herb, pro- 
pagated from seed, if you like-; but from off'sets is the easiest 



v.] 



TURNIP. 



137 



way : a plant or two would be sufficient for a garden, and when 
once it had taken root, it would remain there for a life-time. 

194. TARRAGON is a very hot, peppery herb, used in soups 
and salads. It is perennial, and may be propagated from seed 
sowed at any time in the spring, or from offsets put out in either 
spring or fall. Its young and tender tops only are used. It is 
eaten with beef-steaks in company with minced shalots. A man 
may doubtless live very well without it ; but an orthodox clergy- 
man once told me that he and six others once ate some beef- 
steaks with shalots and tarragon, and that they " voted, unani- 
mously, that beef-steaks never were so eaten !" If you will have 
it in winter, you must dry it in the manner directed for sage and 
other herbs. 

195. THYME. — There are two distinct sorts of this popular 
and most fragrant herb. One is called common thyme, and the 
other lemon thyme ; both are perennial, both may be propagated 
from seed, but both may also be propagated from offsets or part- 
ings of the roots, and this is the easiest way. The winter some- 
times destroys thyme. Some of both sorts should be preserved for 
winter use, cut at the same stage as is directed for the sage ; and, 
as in the case of all other herbs, cut when perfectly dry, and dried 
in the shade, in some place where it receives no wet either from 
rains or dews during the drying. 

196. TOMATUM. — This plant comes from countries border- 
ing on the Mediterranean. Of sorts there are the i^ed, the yellow, 
and the white. The fruit is used for various purposes, and is sold 
at a pretty high price. The plants must be raised in a gentle 
hot-bed pretty. earrly in April, or late in March, put into small pots 
when they are two inches high, and turned out into the natural 
ground about the first week in June ; but even then they must be 
put on the south side of a wall, or in some other warm and shel- 
tered situation. If close to a wall, their runners may be trained 
up it by the means of shreds, when the leaves and fruit make a very 
beautiful appearance. If not close to a wall, there must be sticks 
put to train the vines up and to tie them to. The ground in which 
they are planted should be kept very clean, and frequently stirred 
about them. If you intend to save the seed, you should have a 
plant or two very early placed against a south wall. 

197. TURNIP. — I am here to speak of turnips to be cultivated 
in a garden for table use, and not to be cultivated in a field for the 
use of cattle : but as the Swedish turnip or nita haga, yields most 



138 



KITCHEN GARDEN PLANTS. 



[chap. 



delicate greens for use in March, a few of these might find a place 
in a garden. It is true that they are to be found upon almost every 
farm ; but you must go to the farm to get them, and get leave to 
take them into the bargain ; so that a couple of rows across one 
of the plats ought to find a place in the garden. The garden- 
turnip is called the stone-turnip by some ; by others, the early 
white Dutch-turnip ; some say that they are both the same ; there 
is another turnip which has a long and taper root, and not a large 
bulb in proportion ; and this is called, in Hampshire at least, the 
mouse-tailed turnip. But the finest turnip for eating that I ever 
saw, I never yet saw in England. It is a little flat turnip. The 
bulb lies almost wholly upon the top of the ground, sending down, 
from the centre of it, a slender tap. This bulb is about four or 
five inches in diameter in general, and not above two inches 
through in depth. The flesh is of a deep yellow colour. This sort 
of turnip is in universal use throughout the northern states of 
America. Some farmers in England cultivate the yellow Scotch 
turnip, as it is called ; and if this turnip really did come from 
Scotland, there is something good that is Scotch, at any rate. This 
yellow turnip is cultivated in Herefordshire under the name of the 
ox turnip ; and I remember that Mr. PalmePc of BoUitree told me 
that it far exceeded, in point of richness, and in point of standing 
the weather, all other turnips except the Swedish : I think his 
account was, that weight for weight, it was half way between the 
common turnip and the Swedish, as food for cattle. However, 
the chances are that, as people like white better than yellow in a 
turnip, they will prefer the early white Dutch, or early stone, to any 
other. The manner of propagating and cultivating all the sorts is 
the same. Spring turnips, or rather early summer turnips, are very 
poor things : the plant must have cold weather to make it really 
good : do what you will, it will be hot if you have it to eat in the 
early part of the summer ; but if you wish to have them at that 
time, you must sow them in March. The manner of sowing is, 
in shallow drills, a foot or fifteen inches apart, and the plants 
thinned to eight or nine inches in the row. The fly, or rather the 
flea, is apt to take them off", and, in that case, there is no remedy 
but sowing again. The ground between them should be kept clean, 
and it should not be fresh dunged, for that will be sure to make 
them rank and hot. Depend rather upon the Tullian principle 
of causing growth by tillage. For autumnal and winter use, tur- 
nips are very good and very convenient, seeing that they may be 



WORMWOOD. 



139 



SO easily preserved from the frost, even in the severest winters. To 
ensure a crop, you should sow in the last week of July, or the first 
of August, in the south of England, and a week or two earlier to- 
wards the north. It is a very good way to sow again in the last 
week of August, especially in good and warm soil, for these will 
be sound in the month of March, and, if the winter be mild, quite 
large enough, while those sowed earlier will become woolly by that 
time. But there is a way to prevent this woolliness : that is to 
say, by taking up the turnips and taking oif their greens and roots 
early in November, keeping them in a cellar or some other conve- 
nient place, taking care to exclude all bruised, broken, or rotten 
turnips or parts of turnips. A small conical heap made in the 
garden, upon the top of the ground, covered first with straw and 
then with earth, will keep the turnips perfectly sound until March, 
so that, be the winter what it may, you may always have turnips 
ready for use ; and, as they are not in a state to grow, they will 
not become woolly. 

198. WORMWOOD is a herb purely medicinal. It may be 
propagated from seed, from slips, or from offsets : it is perennial, 
and a foot square in the herb-bed is enough to be allowed to it. It 
loses its leaves in the winter ; and therefore, for winter use, it 
must be cut and dried in the manner directed in the case of other 
herbs, and put by and preserved in paper bags. 

199. NotaBene. — BORAGE. — I omitted the insertion of this 
plant in due alphabetical order, and as the printer treads closely 
upon my heels, I am obliged to mention it here. — This is a very 
pretty flowering plant. One sort of it has blue flowers, one red, 
and another white. The only use that I ever saw borage put to 
was putting it into wine and water along with nutmeg, and some 
other things, perhaps, the mixture altogether being called cool- 
tankard y or by the shorter name cup. If once you have it grow- 
ing upon any spot, you need not take the trouble to sow it. It 
bears an abundance of seed, some of which is ripe while the plant 
is still in bloom. If you wish to have it young at all times, you 
may sow in the spring, in the summer, in autumn, or at any time. 
The plants should not stand too thick upon the ground, and the 
ground should be kept clean. Any awkward corner under one of 
the hedges will do very well for borage, which, however, is by no 
means unornamental in a flower-garden, both flower and leaf being 
very preity. 



140 



FRUITS. 



[CAAP. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Fruits. Propagation, Planting, Training and Pruning, whether 
wall-trees, espaliers, or standards, with an Alphabetical List 
of the several Fruits, and with observations on the Diseases 
of Fruit-trees. 

200. All the fruits to be treated of here, with the exception of 
the cranberry, the melon, and the strawberry, are the produce of 
trees, or of woody plants. In treating of them I shall pursue the 
following course : first, give instructions as to the propagation, 
next as to the planting, next as to the training and pruning ; next 
I shall give the list of fruits ; and, lastly, I shall make some re- 
marks on the nature and tendency of the diseases of fruit-trees, 
and on the remedies proper to be applied. 



PROPAGATION. 

201. All fruit-trees, from the loftiest cherry down to the 
gooseberry, may be propagated by seed ; and this would be the 
proper way ; but nature has so contrived it that the seed of 
fruit-trees will not bring trees to produce the same sort of fruit, 
except by mere accident ; so that gardeners are compelled, in 
order to ensure the sort of fruit which they wish to have, to raise 
the trees from some part or other of the wood of the tree the like 
of which they wish to have. The several parts of the wood taken 
and used for this purpose, are slips, layers, cuttings, and buds. 
The different methods of propagation suited to each kind will be 
mentioned under the name of the kinds respectively in the alpha- 
betical list, which will form a part of this present chapter. In this 
place, therefore, I am to describe the several methods generally, 
and the general management suited to each. 

202. SLIPS are little branches of one or two years' growth, 
pulled off from a limb or larger branch of the tree by a downward 
jerk of the hand. You then take a sharp knife, trim off the ragged 



v.] 



PROPAGATION. 



141 



bark from the bottom of the slip, and cut the tip of the slip off 
at the same time, leaving the slip altogether to be about a foot 
long. The time of the year for taking off slips is about the be- 
ginning of March ; and if it were a little earlier it might be as 
well. You then plant them as you would a little tree, but three or 
four inches deep in the ground, and in a shady place ; a most con- 
venient place for purposes of this sort would be near the hedge on 
the south side of the garden. They should be put in a row Or 
rows about eighteen inches apart, and about a foot apart in the 
row. In this situation they will make shoots in the summer, and 
make roots. They should be watered a little at the time of plant- 
ing, and occasionally a little in the spring and summer, until they 
have shoots two or three inches long. There are many sorts of 
apples that will admit of propagation in this way, as quinces also 
will ; and the common codling apple may be raised in this manner 
with the gratest facility. In a very dry and hot season, it may 
not be amiss to lay a little litter upon the ground in which the 
slips are planted in order to keep it cool. 

203. LAYERS. — You take a limb or branch of a tree in the 
fall, or early in spring, or at Midsummer, and pull it down in such 
a way as to cause its top, or small shoots and twigs, to lie upon 
the ground. Th^n fasten the limb down by a peg or two, so that 
its own force will not raise it up. Then prune off all the small 
branches and shoots that stick upright ; and having a parcel of 
shoots lying horizontally, lay earth upon the whole, all along upon 
the limb from the point where it begins to touch the ground, and 
also upon all the bottoms of all the shoots. Then cut the shoots 
off at the points, leaving only two or three joints or buds beyond 
the earth. The earth laid on should be good, and the ground 
should be fresh digged and made very fine and smooth before the 
branches be laid upon it. The earth laid on should be from six 
inches to a foot thick. If the limb or mother branch be very stub- 
born, a little cut on the upper side of it will make it more easy to 
be held down. The ground should be kept clean from weeds, and 
as cool as possible in hot weather. Perhaps rocks or stones (not 
large) are the best and coolest covering. These layers will be 
ready to take up and plant out as trees after they have been laid a 
year. In cases where the branches intended to be laid cannot be 
bent down sufficiently near to the ground without danger of break- 
ing them off, a box of earth or a pan with notches in the sides to 



142 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



lay the branch in may be used. Vines may, by means of pots with 
opening sides, be laid as they are growing in the grapery or against 
the wall ; and this is frequently done by the gardeners as matter 
of curiosity mixed with utility. They lay a shoot in this manner 
in the spring, and when it has rooted and is in full bearing in the 
fall, they cut it off immediately below the pot, and produce at 
table a growing tree covered with ripe fruit. The earth, however, 
in boxes, or pans, or pots, being in small bodies, necessarily dries 
up sooner than when not so ; and therefore when this method of 
laying is adopted, great care must be taken to water constantly, 
so as to keep up the required moisture. And not only does the 
limb require this moisture to make it root, but, when rooted, the 
young roots require it to keep them alive. To cause the limb to 
put forth roots, it is a common practice to prick it nearly through 
in two or three directions, at one of the joints that are to be 
buried under ground ; or to cut a notch nearly half way through 
the limb. At these wounds, matter oozes out which quickly 
causes the putting forth of young roots. 

204. CUTTINGS are short pieces cut from trees in the month 
of February. You take a shoot of the last year, and cut it off with 
a small piece of the preceding year's wood at the bottom of it, if 
that be convenient. The shoot should be a sound and strong one, 
and it is not absolutely necessary that it should have a piece of 
the preceding year's wood. The cutting should have, altogether, 
about six joints or buds, and three of these should be under ground 
when planted. The cutting should be fixed firmly in the ground, 
and the cuts should be performed with a sharp knife, so that there 
may be nothing ragged or bruised about the bark. As to situa- 
tion, watering, and the' rest, follow precisely the directions given 
in the case of the slips. Currants and gooseberries, some apples, 
and a great number of fiowering shrubs, are universally propagated 
from cuttings. 

205. BUDS are little pieces taken out from the side of a shoot 
in the summer, containing a newly-formed bud, which is fixed into 
the side of a bianch growing upon another tree ; but as buds will 
be more fully described when I come to the act of budding, nothing 
more is necessary upon the subject in this place. 

206. STOCKS. — The general way of obtaining fruit-trees of 
the larger kinds is by grafting or budding ; and this grafting or 
budding is performed by putting cuttings or buds upon other trees. 



V..] 



PROPAGATION. 



143 



They may be put upon large trees, which are already bearing ; so 
that, by these arts, you may have numerous sorts of fruit upo;i the 
same tree ; but, what I am to treat of here is the manner of rais- 
ing young trees ; and, to have these, there must be stocks pre- 
viously prepared to receive the grafts or the buds ; therefore, I now 
proceed to ^give directions for the making of this previous prepa- 
ration or provision. Under the name of the different fruits, I shall 
speak of the sort of stocks suitable to each ; but I may observe 
here, that the stocks for apples are crabs, or apples ; that the 
stocks for pears are pears, quinces, or hawthorn ; and that the 
stocks for peaches and nectarines are plums, peaches, nectarines, 
or almonds; that the stocks for apricots are plums or apricots: 
that the stocks for plums are plums ; that the stocks for cherries 
are cherries ; and that the stocks for medlars or pears are hawthorn. 
In many of the cases, stocks may be raised from suckers, and they 
are so raised ; but never ought to be so raised. Suckers are shoots 
that come up out of the ground, starting from the roots of trees, 
and are very abundant from pears and plums, and sometimes from 
cherries. They run to wood, and produce suckers themselves in 
abundance, which trees do not that are raised from seeds, cut- 
tings, or layers. Suckers, therefore, never ought to be used to 
graft or bud upon ; for if you graft a pear, for instance, upon a pear 
sucker, the tree begins to send out suckers almost immediately ; 
and, in America, where this hasty and lazy practice prevails, 1 
have seen a pear orchard with all the ground covered with 
underwood formi g a sort of coppice. I will therefore say no 
more about suckers, but proceed now to the proper mode of 
obtaining stocks, first speaking of those which are to be ob- 
tained from the pips, and then of those which are to be obtained 
from the stones. The pips of crabs, apples, pears, and quinces, 
are obtained from the fruit ; the three former in great abundance, 
when cider, perry, or verjuice, is made ; the last with some 
difficulty, on account of the comparative rareness of the fruit, but 
quince stocks are so easily obtained from cuttings or layers, that 
this is not a matter of much consequence. The pips are, of 
course, collected in the fail of the year ; and, when collected, 
make them dry, put them immediately into fine dry earth or sand, 
and keep them safe from mice until the month of March. When 
that month comes, dig a piece of ground well and truly ; make 
it rich ; make it very fine, form it into beds three feet wide. 



144 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



draw drills across it at eight inches' distance, make them from 
two to three inches deep, put in the seeds pretty thickly, cover 
them completely, tread the earth down upon them ; and then 
smooth the surface. When the plants come up, thin them to 
about three inches apart ; and keep the ground between them 
perfectly clean during the summer. Hoe frequently ; but not deep 
near the plants ; for we are speaking of trees here ; and trees do 
not renew their roots so quickly as a cabbage or a turnip does. These 
young trees should be kept during the first summer as moist as 
possible, without watering ; and the way to keep them as moist 
as possible is to keep the ground perfectly clean and to hoe it 
frequently. I cannot help observing here, upon an observation of 
Mr. Marshall : " As to weeding says he, though seedling 
trees must not be smothered, yet some small weeds may be suf- 
fered to grow in the summer, as they help to shade the plants and 
" to keep the ground cool.'' Mercy on this gentleman's readers ! 
Mr. Marshall had not read Tull ; if he had, he never would 
have written this very erroneous sentence. It is the root of the 
weed that does the mischief. Let there be a rod of ground well set 
with even " small weeds," and another rod kept weeded. Let them 
adjoin each other. Go, after fifteen or twenty days of dry wea- 
ther ; examine the two ; and you will find the weedless grou id 
moist and fresh, while the other is dry as dust to a foot deep. 
The root of the weed sucks up every particle of moisture. What 
pretty things they are then to keep seedlings trees cool ! — To pro- 
ceed : these seedlings, if well managed, will be eight inches high, and 
some higher, at the end of the first summer. The next spring they 
should be taken up ; or this may be done in the fall. They should 
be planted in rows, four feet apart, to give room to turn about 
amongst them : and at two feet apart in the rows, if intended to 
be grafted or budded without being again removed. If intended 
to be again removed, before grafting or budding, they may be put 
at a foot apart. They should be kept clean by hoeing between them, 
and the ground between them should be digged in the fall, but not 
at any other season of the year. The plants will grow fast or slowly 
according to the management ; and the proper age for budding 
or grafting is from three to live years ; but it is better to have a 
strong stock than a too weak or too young one. The younger they 
are the sooner they will bear, but the sooner they a-so decline and 
perish. To speak of the kind of stocks most suitable to the differ- 



PROPAGATION. 



145 



eiit kinds of fruit-trees, is reserved till we come to speak of the 
trees themselves ; but there are some remarks to be made here, 
which have a general application, relative to the kinds of stocks. 
It is supposed by some persons that the nature of the stock affects 
the nature of the fruit ; that is to say, that the fruit growing on 
branches proceeding from a hud, or a graft, partakes more or less 
of the flavour of the fruit which would have grown on the stock 
if the stock had been suffered to grow to a tree and to bear fruit. 
This is Mr. Marshall's notion. But, how erroneous it is 
must be manifest to every one, when he reflects that the stock 
for the pear tree is frequently the white-thorn. Can a pear par- 
take of the nature of the haw, which grows upon the thorn, and 
which is a stone-fruit too ? If this notion were correct, there could 
be hardly a single apple-orchard in all England ; for they are all 
grafted upon crah-stocks ; and of course all the apples, in the 
course of years, would become crabs. Apricots and peaches are 
generally put on plum-stocks, yet, after centuries of this practice, 
they do not become plums. If the fruit of the graft partake of 
the nature of the stock, why not the wood and leaves ? Yet, is 
it not visible to all eyes that neither ever does so partake ? — The 
bud or graft retains its own nature wholly unchanged by the stock ; 
and all that is of consequence, as to the kind of stock, is whether 
it be such as will last long enough, and supply the tree with a 
suitable quantity of wood. As to the stocks raised from stone- 
fruit, the stones must be taken from the fruit when the fruit is 
ripe, made perfectly dry in the sun ; then packed in perfectly dry 
sand, and kept there until the month of November, when the 
stones must be sowed in just the same manner as described for 
the pips, except that they ought not to be closer than an inch 
from each other in the drill, and should be covered to the depth 
of three inches, or perhaps a little more. The plants will come 
up in the spring, and will attain a good height the first summer. 
They should be transplanted in the fall, first taking off the tap- 
root, and shortening the side roots. In the next month of April, 
they should be cut down to the ground and suffered to send up 
only a single stalk for grafting or budding upon. They should 
now be planted in rows at four feet apart and at a foot apart in the 
row, in order to give room for the operations of grafting and bud- 
ding. There are cases when stocks raised from layers are pre- 
ferred ; these cases will be mentioned under the head of the fruit 

L 



146 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



to which they apply, and the reader already knows how to raise 
stocks from layers, because it is done in just the same manner as 
when the layer is intended to be a tree to bear fruit without bud- 
ding or grafting. I cannot dismiss this part of the subject without 
exhorting the reader never to make use of suckers as stocks : by a 
very little additional care you obtain seedling stocks ; and really 
if a man have not the trifling portion of industry that is here re- 
quired, he is unworthy of the good fruit and the abundant crops 
which, With proper management, he may generally make himself 
sure of. 

207. GRAFTING.— When I come to the alphabetical list of 
fruits, I shall speak of those circumstances connected with grafting 
in which one sort of fruit differs from another ; but the mode of 
performing the operation of grafting, and the mode of doing other 
things relative to the stock and the scion, are the same in all cases, 
therefore I shall in this place give the instructions necessary for a 
knowledge of the arts of grafting and budding. There is another 
thing, too, which is equally applicable in all cases, and w'hich ought 
to be mentioned before I enter upon the subject of grafting and 
budding ; and that is this, that the stock ought to stand one whole 
summer upon the spot where it is grafted or budded before that 
operation is performed ii|.on it. If stocks be planted out in the 
fall, the sap does not rise vigorously enough in the spring to afford 
a fair chance for the growing of the graft ; but another remark of 
equal importance is that fruit-trees should stand only one summer 
on the spot whence they are to be removed to their final destina- 
tion, because if they stand longer than this, they will have large 
and long roots, great amputations must take place, and the tree 
suffer exceedingly. 

208. Grafting is the joining of a cutting of one to another tree 
in such a way as that the tree on which the cutting is placed sends 
up its sap into the cutting y and makes it grow and become a tree. 
When a cutting is thus applied it is called a scion. Certain stocks 
have been found to be suited to certain scions, but these will be 
particularly mentioned hereafter in the articles treating of the re- 
spective kinds of fruit. It is best that I confine myself here, as 
much as possible, to instructions as to the time of grafting, the 
mode of preparing the scion, the mode of performing the operation 
of grafting, and lastly to the treatment of the plant grafted. The 
time of grafting is, generally, from the beginning of February to 



VI.] 



PROPAGATION. 



147 



the end of March, beginning with the earliest sorts of trees, as 
plums, cherries, and pears, and ending with the latest, as apples. But 
seasons are different, and in a backward one the season for graft- 
ing will be backward, and in such case, the fullness and bursting 
appearance of the stocks, and the mildness of the weather, must 
be our guides. Not but much more than the necessary im- 
portance is attached to this matter by us ; for I have seen an 
American negro-man, sitting by a six-plate stove, grafting apple 
trees in the month of January, and then putting away the grafted 
plants in a cave there to wait till April, before he planted them ! 
However, it is certain that mild weather with occasional showers 
is the best time for grafting. The mode of preparing the scion 
comes next : in the early part of February, take from the tree 
which you mean to propagate as many branches of last year's 
wood as you think will cut into the quantity of scions that you 
want : but in choosing what branches to take, let the vigour of 
the tree guide you in some measure. If it be a healthy, flourish- 
ing, and young tree, take your branches from the outside shoots, 
for the upright ones at the top, or those near the middle, are more 
likely to be given to produce wood than fruit. Yet do not take 
branches from the lowest part of the tree if you can avoid it, as 
these are sure to be more puling in their nature. In c^se the tree 
be old, or weakly, then choose the most vigorous of its last year's 
shoots, no matter where they grow. Keep these branches buried 
to the middle in dry mould ; and, when the season for grafting 
arrives, take them up and cut them into proper lengths. The 
middle part of each branch wdll generally be found to be the best ; 
but your branches may be scarce and few in number, and then 
make use of every part. Each scion should have from three to six 
buds on it; but six will, in all cases, be quite enough, as there is 
no use in an extraordinary length of scion ; but, on the contrary^ 
it may be productive of much mischief by overloading the head 
with young shoots and leaves as summer advances, and thereby 
making it more subject to accident from high winds or heavy 
rains. 

209. The operation of grafting is performed many ways, though 
no one of them differs from any of the others in principle, which is 
that of bringing the under or inner bark of the scion to bear upon 
the same bark of the stock ; so that the scion is (as I said before) 
a branch of another tree, brought and made to occupy precisely 

L 2 



148 



mi] ITS. 



[chap. 



the place where a branch has been cut off. The sap of the stock 
flows upward towards the scion, and will flow on into the scion, 
provided it find no interruption. Here therefore is the nicety : to 
fit those two barks so closely the one upon the other that the sap 
shall proceed onward into the scion just as it would have done into 
the amputated branch, causing the scion to supplant the branch. 
I shall only mention and illustrate two modes of grafting, namely, 
tongue-grafting and cleft-grafting . These twp it is necessary for 
me to speak of separately and thoroughly to describe, for they are 
not both of them applicable in all cases, the former being used in 
grafting on small-sized stocks, and small branches of trees, and 
the latter on large stocks and large blanches. 

210. Tongue-grafting . — Suppose you to have your stock of the 
proper age for grafting (and for all about which see above, the 
article on stocks), you cut it off" at three or four inches from the 
ground, and, with a very sharp , straight , and narrow-hladed graft- 
ing-knife, cut a thin strip of wood and bark upward from about 
two inches below the top of your already shortened stock. Make 
this cut at one pull of the knife, inserting the edge rather hori- 
zontally, and when it has gone through the bark and into the wood 
a little short of the middle, pull straight upwards (plate 3, 
fig. 1, a h). 



PLATE 3. 



VI.] 



PROPAGATION. 



149 



Then, at less than half way down this cut, and with the blade 
of your knife across the cut, the edge downward, cut a very thin 
tongue of not more than three-eighths of an inch long (plate 3, 
fig. 1. c). Proceed nearly ia the same way with the bottom part 
of the scion : cut first a narrow strip of wood and bark out, but 
not putting the knife in horizontally as you have done with regard 
to the stock at Jig. 1, a, nor bringing it out straight to the end to 
make a shoulder or angle, as you have done with the stock at fig- 
If b ; but making a sloping cut (plate S, fig. 2, a h) of about the 
same length as the cut in the stock, or a little less, if any thing ; 
then make a tongue (plate ^,fig. 2 c) to correspond with that in 
the stock, but recollect that this must be cut upward instead of 
downward ; then place the scion upon the stock, inserting the 
tongue of the scion into the tongue of the stock. Bring the four 
edges of bark, that is, the two edges of the cut in the top of the 
stock, and the two corresponding edges of the cut in the bottom of 
the scion, to meet precisely ; or, if the scion be in diameter a 
smaller piece of wood than the stock, so that its two edges of bark 
cannot both meet those of the stock, then let only one meet, but 
be sure that that one meets precisely. Observe well that this 
can never be, unless the first cut in the stock and that in the scion 
(plate 3, figures 1 and 2, a and h) be as even as a die, and per-r 
formed by a knife scarcely less sharp than a razor. Take a com- 
mon " pruning-knife, and attempt to make a cut of this kind, and 
you will find, when you come to fit the scion on, that, squeeze 
them together as you may, you wdll, in most cases, see light 
between the parts of the stock and the scion that you are trying to 
join so effectually as that the sap shall flow out of the one and into 
the other, unconscious of any division at all! But I will not sup- 
pose anybody so ungain (as it is called in Hampshire) as to go 
about so nice an operation as this without being prepared with 
the proper instrument for performing it ; and, therefore, I now 
suppose the scion put on properly, and presenting the appearance 
as in plate o, fig. 3. But this is not all : the operation is not yet 
complete. The two parts thus joined must be bound closely to 
one another by matting, or bass, as the gardeners call it (pi. 3, 
fig. 4). A single piece tied on to the stock an inch or so below the 
part grafted, and then wound closely up till it reach the very top 
of the stock, will, if well done, almost ensure the junction ; but, 
lest parching winds should come and knit up all \egetation, it is 



150 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



usual to put on, besides the bandage of matting, a ball of well- 
beaten clay, sprinkled over with a little wood-ashes, or the fine 
siftings of cinders, to cover completely the parts grafted, that is, 
from an inch below them to an inch or so above them (pi. 3, 
fig. 5) ; and even to prevent this ball of clay from being washed 
off by heavy rains, it is well to tie round it a covering of coarse 
canvass, or else to earth up the whole plant as you do peas or 
beans, drawing a little mould round it so as nearly to reach the 
top of the clay. Something now remains to be said on the f uture 
treatment of the grafted plant. In a month's time, at least, you 
will see whether the scion have taken ; it . will then be either 
bursting forth into leaf, or it will be irrecoverably dead. In this 
latter case, take off immediately canvass, clay, bandage and dead 
scion, and let the stock push forth what shoots it please, and re- 
cover itself. In the former case, however, you must, as soon as 
the scion is putting forth shoots, cut off, or rub off, all shoots pro- 
ceeding from the stock between the ground and the clay, as these, 
if suffered to push on, would divert the sap away from the scion, 
and probably starve it ; then carefully stake the plant, that is, put 
a small stick into the ground at within three inches, or there- 
abouts, of the root, and long enough to reach a few inches above 
the scion, which you will tie to it slightly with a piece of wetted 
matting. This is really necessary ; for, when the shoots proceed- 
ing from the scion become half a foot long, they, with the aid of 
their leaves, become so heavy that, when blown to and fro by the 
wind, they will break off immediately above the clay, or become loos- 
ened down at the part joined to the stock. The staking being done, 
you need do nothing more till about the middle of June, when you 
should take off the whole mass of canvass, clay, and bandage ; but 
be very careful, in taking off the clay, not to break off the plant at 
the .junction. It should be done by a careful hand, and after a 
day or two of rainy weather, as then the clay is moist, and comes 
off without so much danger to the plant as when it is not. On 
taking off the clay, there is found a little sharp angle left at the top 
of the stock ; this should now be cut smooth off, as is marked by 
the dots at a i^^fiff' 3. The bark of the stock and that of the scion 
will heal over this, and the union is then complete. Lastly, it is 
frequently found that mould, and sometimes small vermin, have 
collected round the heretofore-covered parts of the plant, accord- 
ing as the clay has been cracked by the sun. Rub off all mould 



V..] 



PROPAGATION. 



151 



with your fingers. Ko iostrilhieiit does it so well ; and kill all 
vermin in the same way; and it is not amiss to finish this 
work by washing the joined parts with a little soap and water, 
using a small paiiiting-brush for the operation. All these things 
done, you have now only to guard against high winds, for, if the 
plants be not staked as is above described, they will very likely be 
broken off by them, and, in this work of destruction, you will 
have the mortification to see the finest of your plants go first. 

211. Cleft grafting. —This, as I said above, is a species of 
grafting adopted in cases where the stock is large, or where it con- 
sists of a branch or branches of a tree headed down. In either of 
these cases, saw off horizontally the part you wish to graft, and 
smooth the wound over with a carpenter's plane, or a sharp long- 
bladed knife (plate 4,^^. 1). ^ 

PLATE 4. 




Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 

Prepare your scion in this manner : at about an inch and a half 
from the bottom, cut it in the form of the blade of a razor, that is, 
make it sharp on one side and let it be blunt at the back, where you 
will also take care to leave the bark whole (plate 4>,fig. 2, a). 
Having thus prepared the scion, make a split (plate 4^, fig- 1, «) in 
the crown of the saw-cut, downvt'ards, for about two inches, taking 
care that the two sides of this split be perfectly even. Hold it 
then open by means of a chisel or a wedge (or, when the stock is 
but a small one, your knife), and insert the scion, the sharp edge 
going inwards, and the bark-side, or razor-back, remaining out- 
ward, so that, on taking out the wedge or chisel, the cleft closes firmly 
upon the scion (plate 4^, fig- 3), the two edges of bark formed by 
the cleft squeezing exactly upon the two edges of bark formed by 
the blunt razor-back. To make the two barks meet precisely is, 
the reader will see, the only nicety in his operation ; bat this iy 



132 



TRUiTS. 



[chap. 



SO essential that the slightest deviation will defeat the purpose. 
In this sort of grafting, the stock on which you graft is generally 
strong enough to hold the scion close enough within its cleft with- 
out the aid of binding, and then it is better not to bind ; but, as it 
is also necessary to prevent *air circulating within the wounded 
parts both of the stock and the scion, use grafting-clay to cover 
them over so as effectually to exclude that air, and cover the clay 
with a piece of coarse canvas, wetting it first, and then binding it 
on securely. In this way, the stock being strong, you may insert 
several scions on the same head, by making several different clefts, 
and putting one scion in each ; but this can only be to ensure your 
having two to succeed, for, if all the scions that you can put upon 
one head take, you must choose the two most eligible, and sacri- 
fice the rest, as more than two leading limbs from such head ought 
not to be encouraged. The season for performing this sort of 
grafting, and the mode of preparing the scion, and the future 
treatment of the tree, are precisely the same as in Tongue-grafting . 

212. I have mentioned an application of clay to be used in 
grafting : but it may be as well here to give some particular in- 
structions as to preparing this, bejore 1 end this article on graft- 
ing. The object being to put something round the wounded part 
of the stock and the scion that shall exclude water and air, it is 
necessary, of course, that the application be adhesive and close. 
Pure yellow or blue clay is both, if you beat it well with a good 
stout stick, now-and-then pouring on a little water to make it 
w'ork. Get it, in this way, to be perfectly pliable in the hand. 
Beat it upon a hard stone, or a boarded floor, or a brick floor 
swept clean first ; but beat it again and again, returning to it for 
two or three days, and taking a spell each day. If you suffer it to 
remain hard, besides the danger of unsettling the scion in squeezing 
round it this untractable mass, it cracks, the very first hot day, and 
is utterly useless. Let it, therefore, be so loose that the man who 
follows the grafter, to put it on, can take off* a piece and readily 
flatten it out into a kind of pancake, an inch or so thick, and 
wrap it, without any exertion on his part, or any resistance on the 
part of the plant, round the grafted tree. Then he should sprinkle 
a little wood-ashes over the whole to dry it, and prevent its 
cracking from the heat of the sun. 

213. BUDDING is performed for precisely the same purpose 
as grafting, and, like grafting, it is performed in many different 



VI.] PROPAGATION. 1 55 

ways ; but I shall only notice the most usual, and, as long expe- 
rience has ascertained, the best^ method : namely, that T budding ^ 
so called from the form of the two cuts that are made in the bark 
of the stock to receive the bud (pi. o, Jig. 1) ; or shield budding, 
as it is sometimes called, from the form of the piece of bark on 
which the bud is seated (pi. 5, Jig. 2), assuming the shape of a 
shield when it is prepared to be inserted within the T cut in the 
stock. The only solid diiference between budding and grafting is 

PLATE 5. 




Fig. I. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 

this, that whereas, in grafting you insert on the stock a branch 
already produced, in budding you insert only the hud. I shall 
proceed, in treating of this matter, in the same way that I did in 
the preceding article ; namely, as to the season proper for budding ^ 
the choosing and preparing of the bud, the operation of budding, 
and the future treatment of the plant budded. 

214. The season for budding is, generally, from the latter end 
of July to the latter end of August, the criterions being a plump 
appearance of the bud formed on the spring shoot of the same 
year, seated in the angle of a leaf ; and a readiness in the bark of 
the stock to separate from the wood. 

215. In choosing and preparing the bud, fix on one seated at 
about the middle of a healthy shoot of the Midsummer growth. 
These are, generally speaking, most inclined to fruitfuhiess. 
Choose a cloudy day, if you have a choice of days at this season, 
and, if not, perform your work early in the morning, or in the 
evening. The time being proper, you sever the branch on which 
you find buds to your liking. Take this with you to the stock 
that you are going to bud. Holding the branch in your left-hand, 
the largest end downward, make a sloping cut from about an inch 



154 



fhuits. 



[chap. 



and a half below the bud, to about an inch above it, suffering your 
knife to go through the bark and about half way into the wood, 
cutting out wood and all. This keeping of the wood prevents the 
bud and its bark from drying while you are preparing the incision 
in the stock ; and, if you wish to carry buds of scarce sorts to any 
distance, you may do so safely by putting their ends in water or in 
damp moss, but it is always safer, as well in grafting as in budding, 
to perform the operation with as much expedition as possible, 
but particularly it is so in budding. 

216. Operation of budding. Cut off the leaf under whicji the 
bud is seated, but leave its foot-stalk {pi. 5^ fig. 2, a), and by this, 
hold it between your lips while, with your budding-knife, you cut 
two straight lines in the stock at the place where you wish to insert 
the bud, and this should be at a place where the bark is smooth, 
free from any bruises or knots, and on the side rather from the 
mid-day sun. Of these lines, let the first be horizontal {pi. 5, 
fig. 1, «), and let the next be longitudinal, beginning at the middle 
of the first cut, and coming downward {pi. o,fig. 1, h). Let 
them, in short, describe the two principal bars of the Roman letter 
T. You have now to take out from the bark, on which your bud 
is, the piece of wood on which the bark is, and which has served 
you up to this time, to preserve the bark and bud from drying and 
shrinking. But this is a nice matter. In doing it, ^ou must be 
careful not to endanger the root, as it is called, of the bud, because 
in that is its existence. The bark (if the season be proper for 
budding) will easily detatch itself from this piece of wood, but still 
it requires very careful handling to get it out without endangering 
the root of the hud. Hold the bud upon your fore-finger, and keep 
your thumb on the wood opposite ; then, vv^ith the fore-finger and 
tfiumb of the other hand, bend backward and forward the lower 
end of the shield, and thus coax the wood to disengage itself from 
the bark ; and when you find it decidedly doing so, remove your 
thumb from it, and the whole piece of wood will come out, leaving 
you nothing but a piece of bark of about two and a half inches 
long, with a bud and foot-stalk of a leaf on it. If the root of the 
bud be carried away with the piece of wood, you will perceive a 
small cavity where it ought to be. In this case, throw away the 
bud and try another. 

217. Having succeeded in a second attempt, now open the two 
sides of the longitudinal bar of the T, with the ivory haft of your 



VI.] PROPAGATION. ]c>5 

budding-knife (pi. o,Jig. I, h), but, in doing this, raise the bark 
clearly down to the wood, for the inside of the piece of bark be- 
longing to the bud must be placed directly against this. Having 
opened these sides wide enough to receive the longest end of bark, 
insert it nicely : taking especial care that its inner side lie flatly 
against the wood of the stock. Then cut the upper end of the bark 
off so that its edge shall meet precisely the edge of the horizontal 
bar of the T (pi. 5, fig. 1, «). With your finger and thumb, 
bring the two sides of the longitudinal bar over the bark of the 
bud, or rather the shield, and, with a piece of well-soaked matting, 
begin an inch below this bar, and bind firmly all the way up to an 
inch above the horizontal bar, taking good care to leave the bud 
peeping out. Bind in such a ^^ ay as to exclude the air, for that is 
the intent of binding in this case. Tie your piece of matting ou 
first, and then wind it round and round the stock as you would a 
ribbon, taking care not to twist the matting. Wind it slowly, and 
every time you have gone completely round, give a gentle pull to 
make it firm. 

^18. Future treatment. — In a fortnight's time from the opera- 
tion, you will discover whether the bud have taken, by its round- 
ness and healthy look ; and, in a fortnight after that, loosen the 
bandage to allow the whole plant to swell ; and, in about five 
weeks from the time of budding, take away the bandage altogether. 
In this state the plant passes the winter, and, just as the sap begins 
to be in motion, in the following spring, you head down the stock 
at about half an inch above the bud, beginning behind it, and 
making a sloping cut upward to end above its point. Some gar- 
deners leave a piece of the stock about six inches long for the first 
year, in order to tie the first summer's shoot to it, to prevent its 
being broken off by the wind. This may be well, when the plant 
is exposed to high winds, but, even then, if you see danger, you 
may tie a short stick on the top part of the stock, and to this tie 
the young shoot, and then the sap all goes into the shoots from the 
bud, instead of being divided between it and the six inches of 
stock left in the other way. 

219. There are some advantages that hudding has over graft- 
ing , and these I think it right to mention. In the first place, uni- 
versal experience has proved that certain trees succeed veiy much 
better when budded than the same trees do when grafted : such 
are the peach, nectarine, apricot, plum, and cherry ; indeed, the 



156 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



rule is that all stone fruits do better budded than grafted. That 
they are, when budded, less given to gum, a disease peculiar to 
stone fruits, and often very pernicious to them. You may also, by 
budding, put two or more bi anches upon a stock that would be too 
weak to take so many grafts ; and you may bud in July when 
grafting has failed in March and April. The disadvantage of 
budding is that the trees are rendered one year later in coming 
into bearing than when you graft. 

220. PLANTING. — Under the heads of the several trees in the 
list which will follow hereafter, directions will be given with regard 
to the age, the size, and other circumstances which will be found 
to vary according to the several purposes and situations for which 
the trees are intended. I shall here, therefore, confine myself 
merely to the act of planting ; that is to say, the manner of re- 
moving a young tree from one spot and placing it in another ; the 
rules here being applicable to all trees. The first thing to be 
observed is that, though trees will grow if kept out of the ground 
for a considerable time, they ought to be kept in that state as short 
a time as possible, and, during even that short time, the roots 
ought to be exposed as little as possible to the sun and wind. The 
taking up of a young tree ought to be performed with the greatest 
possible care, especially if it have stood in the place whence 
it is taken for more than one year. And here let me stop for a 
minute in order to re-impress upon the mind of the reader the 
importance of the observation which I made in paragraph 206. 
After having read that paragraph again, the reader wid please to 
observe that all long roots must be pruned off to within at most 
four or five inches of the stem of the tree ; and that, if the tree 
have stood too long in its place before its final removal, this loss 
of root will render it absolutely necessary to cut off the upper part 
of the tree very near to the ground ; and, even after that, will make 
it very slow to re-enter upon vigorous growth. If, therefore, you 
be not ready for the transplanting of your trees, at the time when 
they might be transplanted, rather than let them stand to get these 
long roots, take them up in the fall of the year, give the roots and 
heads a pruning, and plant them again, so that you may not 
experience the great check at the final transplanting. 

221. I return now to the taking up of the tree, which ought to 
be done without tearing any of the roots, and which is not done 
vsithout such tearing one time out of twenty. You ought to dig 



PLANTING. 



157 



some earth away a little distance all round the tree to a consi- 
derable depth, and nearly let it tumble down of itself ; for if you 
pull you break a root ; and if that root be large, and break off near 
the stem of the tree, the tree will have a bad root, and will never 
grow finely. Having taken the tree fairly out of the ground, you 
begin by pruning the root. All the larger shoots of the roots you 
cut off to within six inches of the stem, and you take entirely out 
all the hairy fibres ; for they never grow again, and they are apt to 
mould and to keep the earth from closely touching the roots out of 
which the new shoots are to come. Having pruned the root, you 
proceed to plant the tree. The hole must be much deeper and 
wider than is required for the mere reception of the root. The 
earth ought to be broken very finely at the bottom of the hole. 
When that is done, the root of the tree ought to be placed upon it 
in such a manner as for the tree to stand about an inch higher 
above the ground than it stood before it was removed. If the tree 
be to be placed against a wall, the head should lean gently against 
the wall, and the bottom of the trunk about eight or ten inches 
from it : if the ttee be to be planted in the open ground, the trunk 
should be held perfectly upright : while thus held, very fine earth 
should be put upon the roots : if it were sifted, so much the 
better : the tree should be joggled or shaken a little, to cause the 
earth to go down in and amongst the roots and fill up all the 
cavities, so that the fine earth may touch the roots, and lie closely 
round them in every part. If you tumble in the rough earth, which 
would leave part of the roots untouched, the parts so untouched 
will mould, will perish, or become cankered. When the roots are 
all covered with very fine earth, you may fill up the hole with the 
earth that has come out of it, only taking care to break it very fine. 
Before you have put in quite all the earth, give a gentle tread all 
round the tree with your foot, treading first at a foot distance from 
the tree, and approaching all round to within three or four inches ; 
then put the rest of the earth over tlie treading, and leave the 
surface round the treading in the form of a dish. 

222. If you plant late in the spring, lay a little short litter into 
the dish, and give the tree a watering occasionally until the 
month of July, unless the weather obviously render such operation 
unnecessary. [ am particularly anxious that the reader should 
attend to this part of my instructions ; for, nine times out of ten, 
w hen failure takes p'ace, careless planting in the cause. If you 



158 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



purchase trees, you should look well at the roots ; and, if they be 
very large, or at all torn, it is much better to fling the trees away 
than to plant them ; for what are a few shillings, or even a few 
pounds, when compared with the loss of years, in providing 
yourself with fruit ? 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 

223. Training and pruning go together; they are two parts 
of the same act, because you lay the branch in its proper place at 
the same time that you cut it. They are, therefore, inseparable 
as matters to be treated of. There are, however, different sorts 
of training : one against wails or pails, or against a house ; and 
the trees thus situated are called . wall-trees. After these, come 
espaliers and dwarf trees in various shapes for a garden. These 
will be spoken of by and by ; and, at last, I shall speak of the 
planting of standard trees for an orchard. The main principles 
of pruning are the same in all cases : the objects are to render 
trees productive, to preserve their health, and to keep them in 
regular and convenient form ; for, in this case, as well as in 
almost every other, though nature does a great deal, she will not 
do all : she will not do every thing : she must be and will be 
assisted ; and certainly the management of fruit-trees may be 
considered as one of the principal parts of the art of gardening, 

224. I shall now give instructions for the pruning of peach 
trees placed against walls. If I were to stop at every particular' 
part of the instructions, in order to point out the difference be- 
tween the pruning of a peach tree and that of the apricot and 
other trees, the mind of the reader would be bewildered : there- 
fore, I shali keep the peach tree solely in my eye while giving these 
instructions ; and, as this head of training and pruning will imme- 
diately be followed by an Alphabetical List of Fruits, the reader 
will find, under the name of each fruit, such remarks as are 
required to point out to him in what respect he is to differ in his 
training and pruning from the rules laid down in the case of the 
peach. He will, therefore, please to observe that, in the instruc- 
tions which I am now about to give, I have the peach tree solely in 
my eye. 

225. Training and pruning involve so many circumstances, 



TRAlNIxVG AND PRUNING. 



139 



such a great variety of objects and of operations, that to give 
minute instructions upon the subject absolutely demand a great 
space ; and, after all, it is fortunate, when mechanical operations 
are to be described by words ; it is extremely fortunate, if the 
writer make himself clearly understood ; and, indeed, it is impos- 
sible for him to do it unless he have the best attention of the 
reader : it is not a clear statement of a fact ; it is not a mere 
affirmation or negation, that is required here ; nor is it in the con- 
struction of an argument and the drawing of a conclusion : here 
v/e have to describe innumerable minute acts to be performed with 
the hands and the fingers ; and, I have always found that to be 
intelligible, in such a case, is the most difficult thing that one 
experiences in the use of words. Hence it is that this is 
hardly ever attempted without the assistance of drawings, or of 
something that teaches through the channel of the eye. I 
shall do my best to make myself clearly understood ; and, if 1 
have the strict attention of the reader, I have little doubt of suc- 
cess. I shall first offer some preliminary observations, and to 
these I request the reader's extraordinary attention. 

226. The time, or rather times, of pruning, are common to all 
fruit trees. The winter pruning is performed in February, March, 
and April, beginning with the earliest sorts of trees (with reference 
to their blooming) and ending with the latest, forming this series : 
apricot, peach, plum, pear, cherry, apple. Quinces and medlars 
will be spoken of sufficiently under the names of those trees, as will 
gooseberries, currants, and raspberries. It may be matter of in- 
difference, perhaps, whether the winter pruning of the above-men- 
tioned trees take place in one of the afore-mentioned months or 
the other ; but three things are to be observed in the case of all 
trees ; that pruning ought not to be done during the time of 
flowering ; and that the summer pruning ought not to be done 
till after the fruit has attaiiied a considerable size ; that it is 
essential^ always to prune with a very sharp knife ; that the cut 
ought to be from below, upwards, beginning behind a bud, and 
finishing near its opening, taking good care not to hurt it. A 
rubbishing pruning-knife, a thing made of bad stuff, or in bad 
shape, will spoil any set of trees in the world. The best pruning 
knives that I have ever seen are made by Mr. Richardson of 
Kensington, and Mr. Holmes of Derby. 

227. Preliminary ohservations. First : The sap of trees always 



16-0 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



mounts perpendicularly from the root to the top, flowing through 
the straight branches, and producing wood instead of fruit. There- 
fore, when you wish to restore equality between two branches, of 
which one is more weak than the other, bend the more vigorous 
one down a little and raise the weak one, which will soon overtake 
it. Also, when you wish a tree to furnish well at bottom, you must 
prevent the sap mounting to the head, by inclining the upper 
branches downwards and pruning them long, and, if necessarv, 
by means of the annulary incision. 

228. Second : The less the sap has of direct channels; the less 
it can freely circulate between the bark, the more it will produce 
of side branches and fruit-buds. Thus it is, perhaps, that the 
graft and the annulary incision, by stopping the progress of the 
sap, augment the quantity and improve the quality of the fruit. 
So, when a tree runs to vv ood, bend the branches downwards : stop 
the sap, and force it to produce fruit, 

229. Third : The sap flies more strongly into a shortened branch 
than into a long one, and the more the branch is shortened, with 
the more force will the sap be drawn to it. Therefore, when one 
part of a tree becomes less strong than the other, prune it 
shorter, so that the sap may go there in greater abundance and 
reinforce the weakened part. This shows, too, that, to have fruit, 
you should prune long ; and short, to have wood. For instance, 
if you cut a branch so as to leave but two or three buds, you will have 
nothing but strong wood ; but cut ofl" in the middle, the extremity 
will then furnish wood, the middle spurs, and the lower end, fruit- 
shoots ; so also, prune not at ail, and incline horizontally, and 
you will have nothing but blossom-bods. From these premises, 
it may be concluded that, when you have a branch given to bear, 
instead of pruning it long, as is the practice with most gardeners, 
it should be pruned short to produce an influx ot sap suflicient 
to nourish and perfect the fruit ; and that the vigorous wood- 
shoots, which the French call gourmands, or gluttons, should be 
pruned long. 

230. Fourth : If you cut a branch completely oflf, the sap goes 
to the neighbouring branches and shoots. When a branch, there- 
fore, becomes diseased and is difficult to cure, sacrifice it without 
hesitation. The neighbouring branches will soon replace it, and, 
perhaps, in less time than it wou!d have taken in the cure, if that 
liad been possible. 



VI.] THAINING AND PRUNING. l6l 

23 1 . Fifth : Every shoot whicli has been topped or dis-budded 
throws out, from superabundance of sap, a quantity of shoots and 
fruit-buds. So, if by means of bending you cannot prevent a 
branch throwing out wood, top it and pinch off the side buds 
when they are bursting, and it will tend to fruit. 

232. Sixth : The duration and the strength of a tree depend 
upon an equality existing constantly between its head and its 
roots, as well as between the different parts of its head. You 
should never, therefore, cut back a tree to its main limbs or to its 
trunk, unless there be a corresponding deficiency in the roots 
either from old age or from accident. This proves the necessity 
of pruning very short on transplanting. If one part of the 
branches, by strong growth, take the sap destined for the other 
part, these decline rapidly, and finish by complete decay, in 
which they do not fail to involve the whole tree. 

233. Seventh : The more a tree is forced into bearing the 
more it is exhausted ; but the more it is suffered to put forth wood, 
the more vigorous it is. This principle proves that we should 
never suffer a tree to become overloaded with fruit-branches, be- 
cause we expose ourselves to lose it altogether in a few years, or 
at least, to see it barren for one, tvvo, or even three, years. But 
an intelligent gardener will always take care to provide an even 
quantity of branches both for wood and fruit ; and the result will 
be that he will have a greater quantity of fruit, and of finer 
quality, and that he may rest assured of this annually without 
injuring the tree or shortening its duration. 

234. These principles are applicable to all fruit-trees, but there 
is another which applies more particularly to the stone-fruits, and, 
of these, mostly to the peach-tree. 

235. Eighth : The fruit-buds, particularly of stone-fruits, to 
form and bring to maturity their fruit, should be accompanied by 
shoot-buds, which draw the sap towards them. Every fruit-branch 
which has not these dries up and dies without bearing. It often 
happens that the severity of the winter destroys the shoot-buds 
which are coming alongside the fruit-buds ; and those who prune 
before this can be discovered stand the chance of leaving fruit- 
branches without wood-buds, and, consequently, of seeing these 
die as soon as they have flowered. Every fruit-branch which 
has, at its extremity, nothing but a wood-bud should be 
shortened, unless you wish to preserve it for a wood-branch ; but 

M 



162 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



do this only in a case of necessity, because it will always remain 
sterile below. 

236. Between the stone-fruits and the pip-fruits, there is a 
great deal of diiference in the manner of bearing. The latter bear 
on little branches of from two to three inches long, called spurs. 
These are two or three years in forming, and they generally come 
upon other small branches. The first year, a spur has three leaves, 
the second, five, and the third, seven. The stone-fruits, as the 
peach for instance, bear their fruit on branches of one year's 
growth, which should, therefore, be shortened at every winter 
pruning. The fruit-buds of these last are easily recognised. They 
are round and ruddy, and garnished with a cotton envelope 
whereas the wood-buds are, on the contrary, long and of a green 
colour. 

237. Any form may be given to a tree, so that it be suited to 
its nature, to the aspect, and to the soil. For instance, the luall- 
tree is placed flat against a wall well exposed to the sun ; the 
espalier y pyramidj hush, and dwarf trees, generally grafted on 
stocks which yield but little sap, are placed in the borders of the 
garden, and produce little shade, and require a less deep soil than 
the standard or half-standard. The stocks on which it is proper 
to graft these trees will be mentioned in the articles treating of 
the particular manageinent of each. 

238. The French method of pruning, as practised at Mon- 
treuil, is the best for the peach-tree. Andj as the peach-tree 
is the most delicate, and the most diflicult to manage, I will 
take it as the model of a good form, and I shall refer to this arti- 
cle in speaking of other trained trees, which ought all to be pruned 
in the same manner, wath the slight exceptions of keeping the 
fruit-branches of the pip-fruits a longer time, because they do not 
bear till about the second or third year, though they last much 
longer ; and of leaving on these branches fewer wood-buds, be- 
cause they are not wanted for such constant succession. These 
differences will be treated of in the articles on each particular sort 
of fruit. 

239. The wood-branches of the peach-tree are known by their 
vigour, by their thickness, equal to, if not surpassing, that of the 
little-finger ; by their length of from three to six feet ; and by their 
bark, which is grey from the first year. The fruit-branches, at 
most not larger than a large quill, are from six inches to two feet 



y..] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



163 



long ; their bark is very smooth, green on the side towards the 
wall, and red on the side towards the sun. Sometimes the flower- 
blossoms are assembled in clusters round a short shoot, or spur of 
one or two inches long, with a wood-bud at the end sufficient to 
draw the sap which is necessary to nourish the fruit. 

240. First Year. — Suppose the young tree placed against a wall, 
the first shoot of the graft never having been pruned. Cut it off 
at six or eight inches above the place where it was grafted, as at 
a in the figure, and then, when it has sent out its shoots, nail 

PLATE 6. 



r 




them, after havmg taken off all that come before or behind. It is 
a general rule never to leave any shoots but such as come at the 
sides of the branches. Choose, amongst your young shoots, two 
of equal vigour, one on each side, by which means to form your 
two principal branches that are always to remain ; and, having 
done this, cut off all the rest. If one of them become longer or 
more vigorous than the other, incline it downwards to suffer the 
other to gain the advantage. If one of the two perish, train the 
other straight again, prune it precisely as you did the graft, and 
procure other two branches from it. The only mischief is that 
your tree is thus thrown back a year. When you nail up the two 
main, or mother, branches, extend them so as to form a very wide 
letter V (say an angle of ninety degrees), but being cautious never, 
on any account or at any age, to bend or arch them, or assuredly 
the secondary branches run olf with all the sap, and your tree is 
deformed. 

m2 



]64 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



241. Second Year. — Do not attempt more than to procure 
a lower secondary branch and to lengthen the mother-branch. 
Therefore prune close to the old shoot (a «), that is at two 
buds from it, and, of these two buds, the end one must be an 
upper one, to prolong the mother-branch, and the under one will 
throw out the lower secondary branch. Nail, and that is all. 



PLATE 7. 




242. Third year. — This year you must procure an upper 
secondary branch, fruit branches on the lower secondary 
branch, and again a lengthening of the mother-branch. For these 
purposes prune the mother-branch at two buds again {a a), but 
let both buds be on the upper side of the branch, the end one to 
carry on the mother-branch, and the other to form the upper 
secondary branch. If two successive buds should not be 
found thus placed, prune them at three buds from the last 
year's wood, but, in this case, rub off the intermediate bud which 
will be on the under side. To obtain lateral branches from the 
lower secondary branch, prune it in the same manner {h h) . 

PLATE 8. 



VI.] TRAINING AND PRUNING. l6o 

24o. Fourth Ymr. — Lengthen the mother-branch_, and get a 
second lower secondary branch. 

PLATE 9. 




244. Fifth Year. — Same operation ; but get a second upper 
secondary branch. 

245. Sixth Year, — Same operation. Third lower secondary 
branch ; and, if the tree have been taken care of, and its form 
have not been sacrificed to a too great eagerness to get fruit 
quickly, the peach-tree is formed. Having all the requisites, that 
is to say, health in its nature, a good aspect, and suitable land, it 
ought to extend to between twelve and twenty feet in length, eight 
in height over the surface of the wall, and to resemble the figure 
below. 



PLATE 10. 




246. All trees will not so readily assume this form : therefore I 
will anticipate a few cases, and point out the means of remedying 
the evil. Though a gardener, thoroughly embued with these prin- 



166 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



ciples, and applying them under all circumstances, can never 
be in error. 

247. If the upper secondary branches, favoured by their more 
perpendicular position, flourish at the expense of the mother- 
branch, incline them downward, even, if necessary, to touch the 
mother-branch, to re-establish the equality. And you may also 
leave some fruit-buds to slacken the sap ; and, at the time of nail- 
ing, shorten the mother-branch at a strong wood-bud, whilst you 
take care to prune at a weak one on the branch or branches that 
you have lowered. In order that both the sides of the tree may be 
alike, the corresponding secondary branches, both upper and under, 
should be pruned at buds of the same vigour and at the same 
height. The same with regard to the mother-branches. 

248. The secondary branches ought to be separate enough to 
allow of nailing the fruit-branches that they throw out, say about 
two feet ; but it ought not to be more, because a well-trained tree 
ought never to leave any space vacant. In a tree completely 
formed, the wood-branches are pruned at the point where they 
begin to diminish in size. But this is not a universal rule, for a 
feeble tree should be pruned shorter to give it strength, and a 
young and vigorous tree should be pruned much longer. In fruit- 
branches, too, prune according to the greater or less degree of vi- 
gour apparent in them. Those branches, the eyes of which are 
accompanied by a wood-bud, may be shortened to two or four eyes ; 
but the short branches, or spurs, having clusters of eyes, should not 
be pruned at all if they have a wood-bud at the extremity. Both, 
however, should be cut clean off if the wood-buds perish, as they 
would be sterile. When two branches form a fork, cut out the 
most feeble. As the fruit-branches bear but once, it is indispen- 
sable that they be renewed every year ; and do not, as very unskil- 
ful gardeners do, prune very long and suffer the bud at the extre- 
mity to furnish the new fruit-branch ; for it inevitably results from 
this that the branch, besides being weak from one end to the other, 
will be perfectly barren below the last year's shoot, and will end by 
dying at the end of two or three years, during which time it will 
have furnished nothing but thin, long, disproportionate and unpro- 
ductive twigs ; but, by shortening every year the branch that has 
borne, and replacing it by one of its own lower buds, you have 
every year good and vigorous wood, and placed as near as possi- 
ble to the respective wood-branches. This shortening should be 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



167 



performed as soon as the fruit is all gathered. At Montreuil they 
call it the r emplacement, or replacing. 

249. Some persons train their trees in what is called the fan 
form : that is, instead of having but two mother-branches, they 
will have three or four or even five or six; but, for simpli- 
city's sake, 1 have given a specimen of a tree trained purely in 
the French fashion, leaving two branches that might have 
been carried on to form this tree in the fan fashion. 
According as their mother-branches are numerous, they are 
spread open more or less. The principle is, not to deviate 
from the angle of ninety degrees, or right-angle, more than 
is necessary for the nailing in of the fruit-branches between 
the secondary branches ; so that the two lower principal, or mo- 
ther-branches, may be horizontal, and never more inclined. 
When you have three or five mother-branches, train the 
middle one upright. In other respects prune these mother- 
branches as the French do those 'a la Montreuil ; excepting that, 
as they furnish more, tliey should be pruned much longer during 
the two or three first years. 

250. Summer pruning belongs most particularly to the most 
tender of fruit-trees, and, of course, to the peach-tree ; I shall, 
therefore, treat of it here to finish the subject of pruning. The 
operation is generally performed in the month of May, when the 
young shoots are not more than from eight to ten inches long, 
and it consists in taking off the superfluous ones. It may be done 
by the hand, but it is less dangerous, for those that you determine 
to leave, to do it with a pruning-knife. All the shoots that come 
immediately before or immediately behind should be severed, and 
those that you leave at the sides will profit by it. Recollect 
always that the shoot you save for a wood-branch should be 
healthy and vigorous ; and if the one best suited to your purpose 
as to locality be not so, reject it and fix on a lower and healthicF. 
When the fruit is set, all the shoots proceeding from the bearing 
branches should be removed, with the exception of those neigh- 
bouring ones which tend to nourish the fruit by drawing the sap 
to it, and of those that have been fixed on for the purpose of suc- 
ceeding the whole branch. Should all the blossoms of a branch 
be sterile, cut it off, leaving only one or two buds. 

251 . NAILING is also an essential part of training. It is per- 
formed after the prunings both of winter and summer, only that 



168 



PRUITS. 



[CMAP. 



in the latter, it is not done till the shoots are strong enough to 
bear the constraint without danger of breaking. It may be well 
deferred, especially in old trees, till the month of July, or even 
August : 01 better still never to do it till the trees are found to 
require it. The ooject is to keep the branches in their proper and 
assigned position, and it is done (when there is no trellis against 
the wall) by means of shreds, and nails driven into the wall, by 
which the branches are supported. When there is a trellis, you 
tie with matting. To nail well, you must bend the shoots and 
branches without effort, without making sharp angles, and yet 
make them stretch to their utmost in the form of a wide V. So 
manage it that each branch and its shoots shall assume the form 
of the tree ; so that every part of the tree be furnished, the mid- 
dle, the sides, and the upper and lower parts ; and so that all the 
ramifications of the tree be spaced according to their size, with- 
out confusion or entanglement, and that the eye may follow them 
with distinctness. 

252. Before I conclude my instructions relative to the pruning 
of the peach against the wall, let me speak of an operation which 
is not probably of modern invention, and which is applicable to 
all fruit-trees : it is called the annulary incision, or operation of 
ringing, which is the cutting out of a narrowish strip of bark all 
round the collar of a tree, or round one of its branches only. It 
may be done with any sharp instrument. The annulary incision 
is performed a few days before the blossoming of a fruit-tree, and, 
by retarding the flow of sap, causes it to tend to fruit ; but fine 
fruit obtained in this manner weakens the tree or the branch on 
which it is borne; an% according as the plant is more or less 
strong and the operation is renewed more or less often, it is sure 
to perish. This operation maybe performed on plants or parts of 
plants of which the too vigorous sap thwarts the plans of the gar- 
dener in the training of his trees ; but let him consider it only as a 
remedy against superabounding sap, let him be cautious in the use 
of it even then, and let him never cut a wider piece out than will 
close again in the same summer, which would be about half an 
inch. 

233. Having now done with the wall-tree training and prunino;, 
with the exception of what is to be said as peculiarly applicable to 
each sort of tree, the rides for pruning and training wh.ch differ 
from those for the peach, and which additional observations are, 



VI.] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



169 



as 1 before observed, to come under the names of the different trees 
respectively, I shall proceed to speak of the mode of managing 
those fruit-trees which are not placed against a wall. There are 
divers modes of training, the pyramid, the gohlet, the bushy the 
half'Standardy the arching, and, which is the great method of 
all, espalier, after which will come the instructions for the rearing of 
standards for the orchard. I shall give my reasons for preferring 
the old-fashioned espalier to every other species of training of trees 
not against a wall, and also my reasons for wholly excluding all 
standards from the garden. I think all the other methods, except 
the espalier, of training fruit-trees (for a garden) very bad : I have 
never seen them attended with success, to say nothing of the irre- 
gularity of their appearance, and the various inconveniences which 
attend them. Nevertheless, I will mention them here one by one^ 
that the reader may, if he choose, make use of them. 

254. PYRAMID FORM.— The first year, prune the graft at 
5 or 6 inches from the bottom, saving 3 or 4 eyes to form lateral 
branches and to carry up the stem ; but these first lateral branches 
are essential, for they will furnish the requisite abundance of wood 
below, which, when the tree has obtained a certain height, cannot 
be obtained, and yet which is absolutely necessary to the beauty 
as well as utility of the pyramid. Sulfer no other shoots this year 
than from the 3 or 4 buds mentioned above. Stop the upright 
stem every year when it has shot to the length of 12 or 18 inches, 
and this will force it to send out every year a set of lateral shoots, 
and of these you make your election of 3 or 4 to save. At the 
pruning time, shorten the lateral branches more or less, according 
to the vigour of the tree and the just distribution of sap amongst 
all the branches. If you wish to raise a branch, prune at an upper 
bud ; and at a low er bud to loicer a branch. If you w'ish to cause 
a branch to tend to the right or to the left, choose a bud situated on 
the right or the left side to prune at. In either case, to prevent 
the branch going straight, you have nothing to do but prune a 
little way above the bud. Thus the training continues ; and, as 
the lowermost branches are always a year older than the upper, 
this gradation should be preserved in the length of the branches, 
which of course must diminish by stages all the way up, from 
the base to the summit. This sort of training conduces at once 
to the fruitfulness and to the duration of the tree. 

255. THE GOBLET OR CUP FORM isvery little otherthan 



170 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



an espalier, but of which you bring the extremities of the two 
sides round in a circle to meet each other, and to form a large 
vase or goblet open at the top and tapering down to an inverted 
cone at bottom. To procure this, prune the young tree so as to 
have 4 or 5 branches as near to one another as possible at the 
top of the stem. Manage these principal branches as you do those 
of the wall-tree ; but rub or cut off all shoots or buds that are 
putting forth towards the inside of the goblet, as these would soon 
fill it and destroy the form. The principal branches are 
brought into form by means of one or two hoops, as occasion 
requires. 

256. BUSH TRAINING is rarely exercised excepting iii the 
case of dwarf apple-trees, of which the gardeners will sometimes 
have a square. It is suffering the tree to take its own natural 
form, and pruning only for the purpose of keeping up an equal 
quantity of the wood and bearing branches. 

257. HALF-STANDARDS.— If the plant have been grafted 
where it is to stand, nothing can be done the first year ; but if it 
be a young transplanted tree, shorten the graft down to 2 or 3 
buds. The next year choose the strongest bud to lengthen the 
stem, and pinch the others off at about 6 inches length to favour 
the one you have saved, and which is to form the trunk of the 
tree. If, out of this,^ there come lateral shoots, prune them short, 
in little stumps, that is, at one or two buds, and let them remain 
till the autumnal pruning, when you must cut these oil close to 
the stem as well as those that you pinched off to favour the first 
saved shoot. And thus you continue heightening the tree more 
and more every year, till it shall have reached the height you 
wish, whether of standard or half-standard. If, before it get to 
the height you desire, it should fork, pmch off the weakest of the 
two shoots as soon as it is 3 or 4 inches long, and cut it clean out 
at the winter pruning succeeding ; or if it should become distorted 
or should break off by some accident, either pinch off, or cut, 
immediately below the damaged part, and, in the winter pruning, 
shorten it down to the strongest bud below that you have, one 
that you have been favouring for the purpose since you perceived 
the mischief above, and that will supply you with a fresh unda- 
i*liged stem. If the tree arrive at the height you desire in the 
summer, pinch it off a little above that point, and cut down to the 
exact height you wish it in your first succeeding winter pruning ; 



VI.] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



171 



and then cut off again all the other shoots of the summer that you 
have before only pinched off. Then, in the following spring, 
having now got the trunk of your tree, watch narrowly the shoots 
that the last year's wood will send out, and choose from among 
them the three or four most vigorous and most equally placed of 
them for principal branches, and pinch off all the rest as be- 
fore directed. When these branches send out their shoots, pinch 
off those that come too close to one another, and prune them 
close in winter. In the autumn, prune the principal branches and 
their shoots that are designed to be secondary branches, precisely 
as we have directed with regard to wall-trees above ; and, when 
you have done so two or three years, you may let the tree alone to 
nature, only cutting out the dead branches as they occur. A tree 
well formed, and in good ground well cultivated, will last more 
than a century. Sometimes a vigorous branch will do harm to 
more fruitful ones, and yet you may, for sound reasons, wish to 
preserve it. In such a case, slacken its vigour by pruning it very 
long, or even by ringing it. 

258. ARCHING is done by bending in the form of a half- 
hoop, more or less open, the branches, and in this way you bring 
them pointing towards the earth. This situation retards the cir- 
culation of the sap, and forces it to betake itself to leaf- buds and 
to transform them into wood-buds. 

2o9. ESPALIER. — This is the form which, in my opinion, is 
the only one suited for the open ground of a garden. The fanciful 
affair of arching, for vines or any other tree, is more a matter of 
pleasure-garden than of kitchen-garden : the other forms are in- 
tended to promote bearing, and they are all vastly inferior to the 
espalier in this respect. Apricots obtained in any way except 
against a wall or a house are seldom good for much ; there are 
■a few of the sorts which will bear in other situations ; but the fruit 
is good for very little. Apples, pears, plums, cherries; and 
quinces and medlars, all do exceedingly well as espaliers ; and it 
is notorious that the fruit is always larger and of finer flavour 
when the tree is trained in this form than when the limbs are suf- 
fered to go in an upright direction. There are several sorts of 
pears which will be very fine on espaliers on the very same spot 
of ground where they will scarcely come to anything like perfec- 
tion on a standard tree, or upon any tme the limbs of which are 
suffered to go upright. 



172 



TRUITS. 



[chap. 



260. Espaliers are managed in the following manner : suppose 
it to be an apple-tree which has been grafted in the manner be- 
fore directed, and which has a good strong shoot coming up from 
the graft. Take the tree up, and plant it in the manner directed 
under the head of Planting in this chapter. Whether planted in 
the fall or in the spring, let the tree stand in the spring till the 
buds begin to break, then cut the shoot down to within three buds 
of the bottom. Cut sloping, and let the cut end pretty near to the 
point where the top bud of the tree is coming out. These three 
buds will send forth three shoots, and all the three will take an 
upright direction. About the middle of July, take the two bottom 
shoots, one of which will be on one side of the stem or trunk, as 
it must now be called, and the other on the other side, place a 
couple of little stakes to each of these shoots, and tie the shoots 
down to the stakes so that they may lie in a horizontal direction, 
suffering the top shoot to go on ; but, about the latter end of July, 
take the top off from that shoot. Thus, when winter comes, you 
will have one upright shoot and two horizontal ones. In the 
spring, cut off the top shoot again, leaving five buds ; two of 
which you will cut out in order to prevent them from sending out 
shoots. You W'ill again have two side-shoots, and the top shoot 
will again be going on upright. You must now have longer 
stakes in order to give these side-shoots a horizontal direction ; 
but the stakes that serve for the new- shoots will serve also for 
those of the last year ; but then, as the shoots of the last year wdll 
be going on, there must be additional stakes to tie them to. The 
next year you proceed in the same manner ; and if you do the 
work carefully, you w ill finally have these lateral shoots in perfectly 
regular order, and they should be at about from seven to nine 
inches asunder, the lowest w-ithin a few inches of the ground, and 
the highest just according to your fancy ; but it is not desirable to 
carry the tree to a height beyond that of about five or six feet. 
As these side-shoots or limbs increase in size and length, they will 
need loftier and stouter stakes ; and this, like the growing of peas, 
in a neat manner, and to produce fruit most abundant in quantity 
and most excellent in quality ; this staking, as in the case of peas, 
has been the great obstacle to the cultivation of espaliers. A 
stake of any ordinary wood will last not above two years, and 
especially in garden ground ; it rots off at the point where it be- 
gins to touch the earth, and there is an everlasting trouble and 



VI.] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



175 



expense. To have espaliers, therefore, and to have them in neat 
order, the old fashion was to have stakes of spine oak, an inch 
one \\ ay, and two inches the other ; such stakes would last ten or 
fifteen years, according to the wetness or dryness of the land. 
The best stakes would be the trunks of young locust-trees, planted 
within two feet of each other, and suffered to grow to the height 
of about twelve or fourteen feet. They would do this, in good 
ground, in the course of four or five years. Cut down in winter, 
and, the branches trimmed off close, they would make espalier 
stakes to last for a good long life -time. While the limbs 
of espaliers are small, they should be fastened to the stakes by 
good fresh matting, or bass, as it is called, to be occasionally re- 
newed : when the limbs get stout, I have seen brass wire used ; 
though, perhaps, the matting might still be sufficient ; for, when 
the limb has once got to be an inch or two through, it wants little 
supporting, except merely towards its point, or when heavily laden 
with fruit. Espaliers are to be planted in rows if there be a con- 
siderable number of them m a garden ; and they should not stand 
nearer, if intended to be permanent trees, than at twenty feet from 
each other. That they should be planted in a straight line is 
obvious enough. The best situation for them is along by the sides 
of walks and not more than about three feet distant from the 
edge of the walk. Their symmetry is very beautiful ; and, what 
can be more beautiful than an avenue of fruit-trees in bloom, and 
trained in form so regular and neat ? The crops they bear are pro- 
digious, compared with those of standard trees upon the same spot. 
I remember a gentleman who had an espalier apple-tree of about 
twenty feet in length, and two very large standard trees of the 
same sort of fruit, in the same garden, and very near to the same 
spot. All the three trees were well laden with fruit : I stood 
looking at them for some time, making an estimate of the crop ; 
and I came to the conclusion that the espalier had more fruit than 
both the great standards put together, while its fruit was of double 
the size, or nearly so. I asked him why he did not chop down 
those two great trees that shaded and spoiled so much of his 
garden, and plant a couple of espaliers ? He had the new-fashioned 
taste of despising the espaliers, and talked of grubbing this parti- 
cular one up. In remonstrating with him, I said that the espalier 
had a greater quantity of fruit upon it then than both the other 
trees. This appeared to him to be so monstrous that he offered 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



to bet me a hundred to one, or more, agamst my opinion. 1 de- 
clined the bet ; but he promised that, when he gathered the fruit, 
which was to be done in a few days, he would have it measured, 
and give me an account of the result, which, to his utter astonish- 
ment, he found to be that the espalier contained half a bushel 
more than both the other trees put together. The eye always 
deceives itself in comparing things irregularly placed with things 
placed with regularity. So much, then, for the training of espa- 
liers. The pruning, that is to say, the pruning of the limbs, is 
as follows. Apples, and indeed all the other trees which I have 
spoken of to be planted for espaliers, bear upon spurs, some 
shorter, and some longer ; not like peach-trees which have their 
fruit upon shoots of the last year. Sometimes, indeed, apples, 
and these other trees, will bear upon the last year's wood, but 
generally they bear upon spurs, which come out of the sides of 
the limb itself until it gets to be very large, and afterwards come 
out of the lower buds of little side-shoots that have been cut off ; 
and these spurs last for a great many years. When you gather 
an apple in the fall, you will, if the tree be in vigour, see a blos- 
som-bud, ready, coming out of the same spur, to bear the next 
year ; and I ought to observe here that the greatest possible care 
should be taken (as it never is) not to pull off the spur when you 
pull off the apple. Gentlemen who are curious in these things 
actually cut off cherries with a scissors, except the morellos, and 
one or two other sorts, which bear pretty generally on the last 
year's wood, to avoid the danger of pulling off the spurs. It being 
the fact that the trees bear upon spurs, there needs no new sup- 
ply of limbs or of shoots ; and, therefore, the little side-shoots that 
come out of the limbs ought to be cut clean out about the latter 
end of July, unless there be a deficiency of spurs upon the limb ; 
and, in that case, the little side-shoots should be cut off, leaving 
die bud, or perhaps two, if the joints be short, and these will 
frequently send out spurs. Let us now go back to the second 
year after planting the tree, when we had got two lateral shoots 
running horizontally, and one upright shoot. Each of these lateral 
shoots will send out two side-shoots near their point, and one at 
their point, to go straight forward : that one is to be suffered to 
go on, but the others must be shortened to one hud : the same 
thing will happen next year, when the same operation is to be 
performed, and at the same season : thus, at last, you have a limb 



V,.] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



175 



ten feet long, furnished with spurs from one end to the other. 
When your room will suffer you to carry the limb no further, you 
cut off the point. Let any one judge, then, what a saving of 
room here is ; how much sun and air, and how regularly admitted, 
compared with what is to be expected from the half standard oi 
any other form. How are you to prune in this careful and yet 
easy manner a tree of irregular shape ? My real opinion is that 
an acre of ground well stocked with espaliers, the rows at ten 
feet apart, and the plants at twenty feet apart in the row, would 
produce, on an average of years, three times the weight of fruit to 
be obtained from trees in any other form : besides which, the 
ground between the rows might, a third part of it at least, pro- 
duce cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, crops of any sort that did 
not mount too high. The great fault in orchards is a want of 
pruning ; and, indeed, such an operation on standard trees is next 
to impossible. People pretend to object to the formality of the 
espalier. Just as if formality were an objection in a kitchen- 
garden where all is straight lines, and must be straight lines. 
The little border between the espalier trees and the walk should 
not be crowded with plants of any kind, and should have no plants 
at all that grow to more than six or seven inches high. On the 
other side of the espaliers nothing should grow within about four 
feet ; but how small, still, is the space of ground which even a 
large espalier would occupy ! Very little more than half a rod y 
while you can have no tree in any other shape that will not occupy 
and render useless five times the quantity of ground to produce 
the same quantity of fruit ; and if I were to say ten times I 
should be much nearer the mark. Then, there is the inconve- 
nience of fruit-trees in all the other forms. They must stand at 
a considerable distance from the walk, or they extend their 
branches over it. It is a circle of ground that they occupy or 
shade ; and the plat in which they stand can only be partially 
cultivated for other things. If they mount above the reach of the 
hand, to get at the fruit is a business of great trouble ; and, after 
all, there can be no regular and true pruning ; no minute inspec- 
tion : no picking off of caterpillars with exactness : no detection 
and destruction of other insects ; and, in the case of cherries, 
what a difficult business it must always be effectually to protect 
the fruit against birds on any other tree except wall or espalier ! 
I have seen the thing attempted some hundreds of times, and 



176 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



never saw it effected in my life. Monstrous must be the expense 
and trouble to keep the net extended all round and held clear off 
the tree at top, where the finest cherries always are. la short, 
the net lies upon the top of the tree ; birds come and eat 
the fine cherries there, and leave you the sour ones be- 
neath. An espalier, on the contrary, is, with the aid of a few 
long stakes, and a good net, protected as completely as if it were 
within a hand-glass. Espaliers were always the great reliance of 
our gardens until within the last sixty or seventy years. An ob- 
jection is made to their formality, their stiffness of appearance ! 
Alas ! the objection is to what is deemed the trouble, or labour ; 
and Swift observes that labour is paiuy and that, in all his family, 
from his great-grandmother to himself, nobody liked pain. This, 
however, is a great error ; for, as in an infinite number of cases, 
some of which occur to every man almost every day of his life, 
pains-taking, at the first, produces ease and leisure in the sequel. 

261. STANDARD TREES.— After what I have said, I do 
most anxiously hope that, if any gentleman ever should make a 
garden after the plan that I am recommending, he never will 
suffer it to be disfigured by the folly of a standard-tree, which, the 
more vigorous its growth, the more mischievous that growth to the 
garden. But, an orchard is another thing ; and especially if that 
orchard be to be a pasture as well as an orchard. In this case, it 
is necessary to keep the branches of the trees out of the reach of 
cattle ; and they must have a clear trunk to a considerable height. 
The usual way of going to work is this ; to purchase trees with a 
clear trunk of the length which is desired : to plant the trees at 
suitable distances, and to shorten the shoots of their heads at the 
time of planting. A dreadful amputation of roots must take place. 
It is impossible that there should be a due supply of sap for the 
first summer at least : the bark becomes clung to the wood. The 
shoots that come out the first summer are poor feeble twigs ; the 
trees, if unpropped, are blown nearly out of the ground before the 
summer is over ; therefore, a propping takes place ; sometimes 
with one stake, hay-bands and cord ; sometimes with two : there 
must be three, to keep the tree upright, so that here is a tripod 
with a stump coming up in the middle. The tree gets something 
in the head, and, at least, a parcel of leaves ; the wind works the 
trunk about in spite of the bandages, and, nine times out of ten, a 
breaking of the bark and the foundation of a canker takes place. 



VI.] TRAINING AND PRUNING. 1 77 

In short, the tree must be supported by something like carpenter- 
ing work ; or it is sure to lean on one side ; and every reader must 
know that a rarer sight is hardly to be seen in England than an 
apple tree with an upright stem. Indeed, more than one half of 
such trees totally fail, and those that do not are so crippled in 
their roots that they become poor weakly things, and, if not un- 
productive altogether, bear very mean fruit. The true way to have 
a fine orchard would be to plant the trees when young, having 
been previously moved, as directed under the head of Planting 
in this Chapter. After planting, the trees should be cut down 
just before the buds begin to burst, to one bud, or two, at rnost, 
for fear of accidents. If to two buds, only one should be suffered 
to send up its shoot. All things having been done rightly, this 
shoot would be strong, and fed by a root which would have fairly 
started in the progress with itself. To insure stoutness of trunk, 
take care that no side-shoots be suffered to remain for any lengtk 
of time, even the first summer. The second spring after planting, 
cut the new shoot down to within three buds of its bottom : it will 
send out three shoots, rub oif the two lower ones, and suffer the top 
one to go on ; and this shoot will now, in good ground, attain the 
height of a man's head. The next spring, shorten down to four or 
five or six shoots, according to the strength of the trunk, and, dar- 
ing the summer, take off the side-shoots ; and you will have in the 
fall a trunk seven or eight feet high. That is the tree. Nature 
will teach it, after that, how to form its head ; and your business 
will be to keep the inside of the head clear by cutting off the 
shoots that there cross or interfere with each other. Apple-trees, 
and the same may be said of all other fruit-trees, would have as 
straight trunks as the oaks in the weald of Surrey, if this method of 
planting orchards were pursued. But it will be objected, how are 
these trees to be protected from cattle during their growth ? Why 
if you must have the pasture, and still wish to have straight- 
trunked, wide-spreading, healthy and durable trees, you must sur- 
round each of them with an effectual fence to prevent the possibi- 
lity of cattle reaching either trunk or branches. It is a great ob- 
ject to have a good orchard, or it is not : if it be, then this expense 
is not a thing to be thought of ; and, if it be not, why plant any 
trees at all ? The truth is, however, that, if you reckon the ex- 
pense of great trees, the stakes and the bandages, the loss of many 
of the trees, and the bushes or other miserable protections, which 

N 



178 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



after all, you resort to, and are compelled to resort to, to keep the 
sheep from barking the trunks, or the cows from rubbing them to 
pieces ; and particularly if you reckon the loss that you sustain in 
the tardy arrival of the crop ; if you reckon these expenses and 
these losses, they very far exceed in amount the expenses of the 
way that I recommend. The usual practice in America very much 
resembles the practice here, and is attended with much about the 
same consequences. Those who do the thing well there break up 
the pasture, and cultivate grain of different sorts, or Indian corn, 
until the trees have attained a size to set all cattle at defiance. 
The finest orchard that I ever saw belonged to Mr. Platt in the 
township of North Hempstead in Long Island. The rows of trees 
were at about thirty feet apart, and the trees at about twenty-five 
feet apart in the row, the trees of one row placed opposite the in- 
tervals of the other row. This gave him about six hundred trees 
upon ten acres of land. When I saw the trees, they had attained 
pretty nearly their full size, and had come to within a few feet of 
causing the extreme branches of one tree to touch those of another. 
It is the fashion in that country to shake down the apples that are 
intended for cider, and to gather those only that are intended for 
eating. As soon as the apples are shaken down, they are put up 
into heaps in the form of haycocks, in which state they lie till they 
are removed to be made into cider ; and I remember seeing them 
in this state in Mr. Platt's orchard, the cocks being as thick upon 
the ground as those of a middling crop of hay. This gentleman, 
from whose orchard came the first cuttings that I received from 
America, had a very pretty nursery of his own, and solely for his 
own use. In that he propagated all his fruit-trees, and he planted 
them out very small in his orchards, taking care, when he sowed 
the orchards with grain, not to suffer the wheat or the rye or the 
oats to stand too close to the young trees. After the trees get to 
be stout, and able to resist cattle, the land is laid do^^^l for grass, 
and in so hot a country, the shade of the trees is no injury to the 
grass ; but appears to be the contrary ; for the cattle there will 
feed under the shade of trees, when they will not feed elsewhere. 
The after pruning of orchard-trees consists in constantly taking off 
all shoots that come out anywhere in the middle of the tree, and in 
carefully cutting away every bit of dead wood, whether occasioned 
by blight, by wind, or by any other cause. As to the cultivation of 
orchards, when the trees begin to give out bearing, or to bear poor 



VI.] 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



179 



or small fruit, they, in America, tirst put manure to a good distance 
round the tree ; but, they are soon after that compelled to plough 
up the whole of the land, to manure it, and to take a crop or two 
of grain, most frequently buck-wheat, ploughing always as deep as 
they can : after this, they lay the land down with grass again ; and 
thus they keep up the bearing of their orchards. Mr. Platt had 
a curious mode of making strong cider : in the month of January 
or February he placed a number of hogsheads of cider upon stands 
out of doors. The frost turned to ice the upper part of the con- 
tents of the hogshead, and a tap drew off from the bottom the part 
which was not frozen. This was the spirituous part ; and was as 
strong as the very strongest of beer that can be made. The frost 
had no power over this part ; but the lighter part, which was at the 
top, it froze into ice. This, when thawed, was weak cider. This 
method of getting strong cider would not do in a country like this, 
where the frosts are never sufficiently severe. As to the sorts of 
apples and of other fruit-trees, they will be spoken of under the 
respective heads in the Alphabetical List. 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF FRUITS. 



262. APPLE. — Apples are usually grafted on crab-stocks ; but 
when you do not want the trees to grow so very tall and large, it 
is better to raise the stocks from apple-pips ; because they cer- 
tainly come into bearing sooner. Some graft apples upon stocks 
raised from layers ; and these bring trees to bear quicker still. 
The layers being raised, in the manner before mentioned, from the 
limbs and shoots of apple-trees. See the word Layer in the Index. 
Everything having before been said relative to the propagating, the 
planting, the training, and the pruning, of apple-trees, there 
remains to be spoken of here nothing but the different sorts. To 
give an opinion as to the best sorts would perhaps be useless, 
where the sorts are so numerous, and when tastes are so different. 
I shall, therefore, with regard to eating apples, simply give, 
from Mr. Aiton's Hortus Kewensis, a list of the apples grown 
in the King's gardens : I shall then give the names of some of 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



the American apples of the eating kind ; after which I shall 
make an observation or two upon cider apples. Those of 
the King's gardens are as follows : Borstoff Apple, Golden 
Harvey y Golden Hennett , GoldenRusset,Juneting, Mar gill, Com- 
mon Nonpareil, Scarlet Nonpareil, Nonsuch, Brooke's Pippin, 
Cockle Pippin, Court-of- Wick Pippin, Downton Pippin, Fearns 
Pippin, Frankland' s Pippin, Golden Pippin, Padley's Pippin, 
Red IngestriePippin,Rihston Pippin, Robinson's Pippin, Ronald's 
Pippin, Summer Pippin, Spice Pippin, Pomme d'Api, Pomme 
Noire, Pomme Grise, Quarenden, Sack-and- Sugar , Syke House, 
Bigg's Nonsuch, Summer Codlin, Autumn Codlin, Spring Codlin, 
Costard, French Crab, French Minchin, Hawthorn Bean, Kirke's 
Scarlet Admirable, Lemon Pippin, Minier's Dumpling, Norfolk 
Beaujin, Autumn Pear main. Scarlet Pear main. Winter Pear main. 
On the American apples I can offer some opinion. The earliest is 
Woolley's Summer Pearmain ; and I call it Woolley's because Mr. 
WooLLEY of North Hempstead introduced me to the knowledge 
of it J and gave me some of the fruit in the year 1817. It is 
a long apple, shaped somewhat like the old English pearmain, 
beautifully striped red and white, an-d ripe in the month of 
August. The apple which succeeds this is the Fall Pippin, 
and it continues to be good to eat until the middle of No- 
vember. Then comes the Greening, which continues to be very 
good to eat until February ; and then comes the Newtown Pippin, 
which, if properly preserved, is very good to eat until the month of 
June. For my own part, I should wish for no sorts but these, ex- 
cept I added Conklin's Pie Apple, the reputation of which is very 
great. There is the Doctor Apple, of exceeding beauty, and very 
good until late in November ; but, indeed, after January comes, 
there is no apple wanted either for eating raw or cooking, but the 
Newtown Pippin, which, to the qualities of fine relish and long 
keeping, adds the other great quality of being a surprisingly great 
bearer. It hardly ever totally fails, even when other trees do ; 
and it generally has a large crop. I have a tree in my garden, at 
Kensington, which was covered with fruit in 1826. It stood 
against a wall, and I was afiaid that it would be killed by a foul 
drain oozing through the wall from the out-premises of one of my 
neighbours : I moved it, therefore, in the month of April, 1827, to 
another part of the garden, and, large as it was, it is now (May 
1 828) well loaded with fruit. I never saw anything more beautiful 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



181 



than the tree now is, whether in shoot, leaf, or fruit. The cuttings, 
which came from Mr. Platt at North Hempstead, were put 
upon the several little limbs of an old dwarf standard-tree ; but the 
whole now appears as if it had been all from a young original stock . 
There are numerous sorts of excellent American apples ; but I do 
not think it necessary to speak of any others. Something, how- 
ever, may be said about apples for cooking. There are our own 
codlins, which come earliest, Conklins Pie Apple I have men- 
tioned, the Russettings are very fine for this purpose, and they 
keep a long while : the Spitzenhery Pippin is a fine large apple 
for this purpose, keeps through the greater part of the winter, 
and bears surprisingly. In Herefordshire the apples most highly 
esteemed for this purpose are the Quining, or Queening y and the 
Boovey Red Streak, they are both very fine apples, but particularly 
the former. There are some excellent sorts in Devonshire ; but, 
as to sorts, people will generally be directed by their taste, or by 
the fashion of the neighbourhood. With regard to cider apples, 
it would be useless to speak of sorts, and rather beside my sub- 
ject, seeing that I am treating of things not to make liquor of, but 
to be used for the table. To preserve apples throughout the 
winter is a thing of great consequence. First, the sort is to be 
attended to ; for an apple that is not of a keeping nature will not 
keep. If the quantity be small, I have found that wrapping each 
apple in a piece of paper and packing in a chest is the best way. 
In all cases, they should be carefully hand-gathered, laid in the 
basket which you use in the gathering, and not tossed into it ; for 
the smallest bruise leads with certainly to rottenness. They 
should be quite ripe before they be gathered ; and yet, when quite 
ripe, they fall with the least shake of the limb. Here is one of 
the great advantages of espaliers, the limbs of which cannot be 
shaken with the wind ; while, as every one knows, much about 
half the crop is shaken down by the wind from the greater part of 
the standard-trees long before the apples are ripe. When apples 
are gathered, they should be laid upon cloths or mats in the sun. 
or in some dry airy place, until they become perfectly dry in every 
part of them. If the quantity be large, they ought to be laid 
upon a floor or upon broad fruit-shelves ; but not one upon the 
other. Clean straw laid under them is very good ; but I have 
found a single new mat to be better : they should be looked over 
frequently to see if they begin to rot, and such as do begin ought 



182 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



to be immediately taken away. When there is frost, all that you 
have to do is to keep the apples in a state of total darkness until 
some days after a complete thaw has come. In America they are 
frequently frozen as hard as stones : if they thaw in the light, 
they rot ; but if they thaw in darkness, they not only do not rot, 
but lose very little of their original flavour. This may be new to 
the English reader ; but he may depend upon it that the state- 
ment is correct. 

263. APRICOT. — With regard to the propagation, the plant- 
ing, and the training, of the tree, the instructions have already 
been given under the head of Training and Pruning. The pruning 
differs from the peach in that the apricot generally bears upon 
spurs, some of which are formed by nature, and others may be 
formed in the manner directed in the case of the espalier apple. 
The apricot does not require so much attention as the peach and 
the nectarine in the providing of new wood : because those trees 
bear only upon the last year's wood ; but, occasionally new shoots 
ought to be laid in to supply the place of branches taken off by 
the Mast, which very frequently takes off a whole branch, and 
even a whole limb, without any apparent cause. The apricot- tree 
is not subject to mildew^ and to the various blights to which the 
peach and other fruit-trees are subject ; but it is subject to this 
blast, of which I have never heard a reasonable cause assigned. 
The proper situation for the apricot-tree is a wall facing the east 
or the w^est. Facing the south is as good, perhaps, but that situ- 
ation is wanted for the peaches, the nectarines, and the vines. The 
apricot is a prodigious bearer, and of life equal to that of an oak. 
It will bear, and bear prodigiously too, after the trunk is perfectly 
hollow, and there is nothing left of it but the mere shell. It is 
well known that the young fruit, when of the size of a half-grown 
walnut, is used for the making of tarts, and for other purposes ; 
and, though, in my opinion, inferior to green gooseberries, is more 
highly esteemed, because it is more rare. W^hether part of the 
fruit be gathered for this purpose or not, courage should not be 
wanting to thin the fruit so as not to leave it at nearer than six 
inches at the most from each other upon the tree. A tree of eight 
feet high, and spreading seven feet from each side of the trunk, 
will cover a space of a hundred and twelve square feet : the fruit, 
at six inches apart, would be four apricots to a foot, that is to say, 
four hundred and forty-eight apricots upon the tree, or prettv 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



183 



nearly thirty-eight dozen. It is not to be supposed^ howe^ er, that 
the fruit would be distributed equally over every part of the tree ; 
but, suppose you have half the number, what prodigious quantities 
must come from either of the end walls of the garden ! There is 
no greater error than that of permitting trees to bear too great a 
quantity of fruit. Generally speaking, you have the same weight 
in half the number that you have in the whole number, if too 
numerously left : then, you prevent the tree from bearing the next 
year : for it has not strength to provide for blossoms, while it is 
strained to its utmost in the bearing of fruit. This being a mat- 
ter of so much importance, and applicable to all sorts of fruit- 
trees, I beg the reader to observe how fully this opinion is sup- 
ported by the two instances which I am about to cite. Under 
the head Cucumber, I have observed (and the fact is notorious to 
all gardeners), that if you leave one fruit to stand for seed, the 
plant instantly ceases to bear : it is the same with kidney-beans. 

Gather cucumbers and have cucumbers, gather kidney-beans 
and have kidney-beans," are maxims as old as the hills. These 
are annual plants ; and, therefore, the consequences of causing 
them to make the grand exertion of ripening their fruit are appa- 
rent the same year. As to fruit-trees, it is notorious that, in this 
country, orchard trees seldom bear great crops two years running ; 
but here the matter is irregular, owing to the Mights, and, there- 
fore, the effect of over-bearing is a fact not so well established as 
it is in America where there are no blights. In that country, the 
thing is so well known that nothing is more common than for a 
man, going into one part of the country from another, to ask whe- 
ther that is the bearing year in that neighbourhood ; and it never 
yet was known that two bearing years succeeded each other with 
regard to the same tree. Some sorts of apples (and the Fall Pip- 
pin is one of them) bear upon some limbs of the tree one year, 
and upon other limbs of the tree another year ; and you will fre- 
quently see a limb or two loaded with fruit while not an apple is 
to be seen on any other part of the tree. This doctrine, therefore, 
I take to be firmly established. With regard to apples and fruit 
of about the same value, the consequence is not very great ; but, 
in the case of wall-fruit, you want a crop every year ; and, there- 
fore, you must take away one year that which would prevent 
bearing the next. Cherries may, perhaps, be an exception here ; 
because they take care to make the superabundant fruit diop off 



184 



FRLITS. 



[chap. 



at a very early age ; but, then, there is another consideration with 
regard to which even cherries form no exception ; and that is 
that if the fruit be too numerous it is smaller than it ought to be. 
Perhaps in hardly any case, the greater number produces any 
thing like a proportionate weight to the smaller number ; and, as 
to the quality^ the superiority of the small number is great indeed. 
The apricot should not be gathered until it be almost ready to 
fail from the tree ; and, if the sort be good, it is preferred by many 
persons to the peach. As to sorts, the follo\dng are those men- 
tioned by Mr. Aiton in the Hortus Kewinsis : the Black, the 
,]3r;'ssels, the Masculine, the Moor Park, and the Royal Orange. 
For my part, I lecommend the Moor Park, and the Turkey, The 
former is fine, and a good bearer : the latter not a good bearer, 
but superlatively fine. Mr. Marshall recommends the Preda, 
to ripen in September, The Masculine, the Brussels, and the 
Black, are cultivated only because they come early : they are in 
my opinion very poor fruit ; they might be planted as espaliers in 
very warm situations, but are certainly unworthy of a good wall. 
Besides the use of apricots as fruit from the tree, they make the 
most delicious of all preserves ; and, while in the season of their 
ripeness, mixing them with apples in pies and tarts, makes a great 
improvement in the article. The apricot is, on all accounts, a 
tree deserving of the greatest attention : it usually blows in 
February or March at the latest, and ought to be pruned before 
the blossom buds begin to burst. As to the protecting of the 
blossoms from frost, I shall give general directions for that under 
the head of Peach. 

264. BARBERRY.— This fruit is well known. The tree or 
shrub on which it grows is raised from the seed or from suckers or 
layers. It needs little care, and should stand in the outer part 
of the garden, and in the shade of the hedge, for the hot sun 
tends to prevent the fruit from growing large. 

26o. CHERRY. — Cherries are budded or grafted upon stocks 
raised from cherry-stones, of the manner of raising which stocks I 
have spoken under the head of Propagation. If you wish to 
have the cherry-tree for a wall or an espalier, the stocks should be 
raised from the stones of the Morello, or the May-Duke. As to 
the management of the tree in its early stages, and the planting of 
it out, directions have been given under the head of Planting. 
Cherry-trees, except the Morello and one or two more, bear upon 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



1S5 



spurs ; and great care should be taken in the forming and the pre- 
serving of these spurs, all the rules for doing which have been 
mentioned under the head of espalier apple. Cherry-trees do ex- 
ceedingly well as espaliers ; and, as standards, though they bear 
prodigiously, the crop is for the birds and not for the gardener. 
As espaliers, they may, as I have before observed, be most conve- 
niently covered with a net. In the gathering, too, the espalier 
form is of great advantage : the fruit may be clipped off with a 
sharp-pointed scissors, without exposing the spurs to injury. As 
to the sorts of cherries, those mentioned in the Hortus KewensiSy 
are as follows : — All Saints, Bigarreau, Elton, Carnation, Croicn, 
Kentish, May-Duke, Late-Duke, Morello, Ronald's Superhe, Har- 
rison's Heart, Black Heart, White Heart. The Kentish cherry, 
good for very little, is the earliest ,• the May Duke the next ; and 
then come the others. The May-Duke is one of the finest of all 
the cherries, and is the only one made use of in forcing. If suf- 
fered to hang until it be quite ripe, it becomes nearly black, and 
then it is better, perhaps, than any other cherry. Besides these 
garden cherries, there is the little black cherry, which are vulgarly 
called merries, by a corruption of the French word merise. This 
is the cherry of the common people, and is too well known to need 
any particular description. The Bigarreaus are very large and 
very fine ; but they require a good wall, or a very warm situation 
as espaliers. 

266. CHESTNUT.— This is an inhabitant of the woods. It is 
generally called the Spanish-chestnut : those from America grow 
to a greater height, but have smaller, though sweeter, fruit. 
Chestnuts are raised from the seed ; though, to have the very fine 
ones that grow in Brittany, the cuttings are generally got from 
that country, and put upon chestnut stocks in England. To pre- 
serve chestQuts, so as to have them to sow in the spring, or to eat 
through the winter, you must make them perfectly dry after they 
come out of their green husk ; then put them into a box or a bar- 
rel mixed with, and covered over by, fine and dry sand, three gal- 
lons of sand to one gallon of chestnuts. If there be maggots in any 
of the chestnuts, they will come out of the chestnuts and work up 
through the sand to get to the air ; and thus you have your chest- 
nuts sweet and sound and fresh. To know whether chestnuts will 
grow, toss them into water : those that swim will not grow. To 
raise a chestnut-tree with a straight stem or trunk, follow precisely 



186 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



the directions given for the planting and raising of orchard- 
trees. 

267. CRANBERRY.— This fruit is not much cultivated in 
England, notwithstanding its excellent qualities in the making of 
tarts, and in the making of sauce to be eaten with mutton or 
venison. The finest cranberries come from America, where the 
plants creep about upon the ground in the swamps. If cultivated 
in England, they must grow in some wet place, and be kept clear 
of weeds : th^ plant creeps over the ground, like other creeping 
plants : and I saw them bearing very well by the side of a running 
stream at Aldbury in Surrey. Cranberries make an excellent pre- 
serve, and they may be kept throughout the winter in their natural 
state, either laid in a heap in a dry room, or put into a barrel 
amongst water. I have imported them from America, sometimes 
barrelled up in water, and sometimes not ; and always sound 
and good. 

268. CURRANT.— This, though a low shrub, bears a fruit at 
once popular, plentiful, and excellent in its qualities ; and it is 
one of the great fruits of England, though not the same in many 
other countries. It is raised with the greatest facility by cuttings 
of the last year's wood, taken off in February, and planted in a 
cool place after the manner directed under the head of cuttings, 
which word see in the Index. The cutting gets roots the first sum- 
mer, and the next fall or spring it may be removed to the spot 
where it is finally to stand. Some currant-trees may be placed in 
a warm situation so as for the fruit to come early ; but the finest 
currants are those which grow rather in the shade ; the fruit be- 
comes larger there, and has not the disagreeable tartness which it 
acquires if ripened in a hot sun. This shrub flourishes and bears 
well under the shade of other trees, as is seen so frequently and to 
such great extent in the market gardens near London. When 
the young currant-tree is planted out, it ought not to be suffered to 
have any limbs within five or six inches of the ground ; but should 
be made to have a clear and straight trunk to that height. When 
the limbs come out, or rather the shoots that are to become limbs, 
there should not be more than four or six suffered to go on as princi- 
pal limbs. By shortening the shoots at the end of the first year, you 
double the number of limbs. These, as in the case of the espalier 
apple-tree, are to be kept constantly clear of side-shoots by cut- 
ting off, every winter, the last summer's wood within one bud or so 



VI.] 



LIST bF FRUITS. 



187 



of the limb ; and, when the limbs have attained their proper length, 
the shoot at the end of each limb should also be annually cut off, 
so that the tree, when it has received its pruning, consists of a 
certain number of limbs, looking like so many rugged sticks, with 
bunches of spurs sticking out of them, as in plate 11. On these 
spurs come the fruit in quantities prodigious. If you neglect to 
prune in the manner here directed, the centre of the tree becomes 

PLATE 11. 



crowded with wood, and the small quantity of fruit, that comes 
near the point of the limbs, is very poor and small. This method of 
pruning currants (and, as will be seen by-and-by, that of gooseber- 
ries is nearly the same) is amongst the very greatest of improvements 
in gardening, and is a discovery to be ascribed solely to the mar- 
ket-gardeners in the neighbourhood of London, like a great many 
other things in the art of gardening, in which they far excel all the 
rest of the world. Mr. Marshall in his book on gardening, and 
the French authors in all their books, describe a method very differ- 
ent indeed from this, which is at once so simple and so efficacious, 
causing to be produced such immense quantities of fruit and 
always of the best quality : hanging to one single joint of a currant- 
tree, in the market gardens, you frequently see as much fruit as 
will fill a plate. One tree pruned in this manner is equal to more 
than six trees pruned in the manner practised in general through-^ 
out the country. But these gardeners excel all the world in every 
thing that they undertake to cultivate ; they beat all the gentle- 
men's gardeners in the kingdom : nothing ever fails that depends 
upon their skill, and I should be ungrateful, indeed, if I did not 
acknowledge that I have learned more from them than from all 
the books that I have read in my life, and from all that I ever saw 



188 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



practised in gentlemen's gardens. There are three sorts of cur- 
rants, distinguished by their different colours of red, white, and 
hlack, and the several uses of all these are too well known to need 
any description. 

269. FIG. — There are several sorts of figs, but some of them 
will not ripen in England. Figs are raised either from cuttings 
or layers, which are to be treated in the manner directed under 
those heads, which see in the Index. The fig must stand against 
a wall, and a warm wall, too. This is generally an unsightly tree, 
suffered to grow without pruning, and it is true that it bleeds 
much if pruned ; but yet does not suffer so much as is sup- 
posed. The ground in which they stand should be made as rich 
as possible. They have the singularity that some of their fruit is 
hardly formed at a time when part of it is ripe, and that thus a 
succession of bearing is kept up until the frost comes. As far as 
my observation has gone, comparatively few people like figs, on 
account of their mawkish taste ; but, in a very fine summer, the 
fruit is good and rich, and the number of the fruit is generally 
very great. 

270. FILBERT.— This is a fruit well known to us all. The 
tree, or rather lofty shrub, is raised from suckers or layers : the 
latter is best, because those raised from suckers infest the ground 
with suckers. You cannot propagate a filbert from seed, it being one 
of those plants, the seed of which does not, except by mere acci- 
dent, produce fruit equal to that of the tree from which it comes. 
The plants raised from layers, or the suckers, ought to be put into 
a nursery in rows two feet apart, and at two feet distance in the 
row. They will then become little trees by the end of two years, 
and they should not stand there longer before they be finally 
removed. A very good situation for filberts would be not far 
from the hedge in the outer garden ; where they should never be 
suffered to grow to too great a height ; never higher than to make 
it a matter of no difficulty to gather the fruit with the hand. In 
Kent, which county produces more filberts than all the rest of 
the country put together, the trees are planted in rows at about 
ten or twelve feet apart, and at about the same distance apart in 
the row. Care is taken to have a clear stem or trunk about a 
foot high, after which, limbs are suffered to come out in every 
direction. Care is taken to prevent any limbs from going upright 
above a certain height, and an annual pruning takes place in the 



V..] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



189 



winter to take out all dead wood, all shoots that cross one another, 
and to keep the middle of the tree clear, so that the sun and air 
find their way to every part of it. Filberts, like every description 
of hazel, will grow and bear under the shade of lofty trees ; but 
the fruit is not so abundant and not nearly so fine. To preserve 
filberts for use through the winter, and until the spring, follow 
precisely the directions given in the case of the chestnut. There 
are two sorts of filberts, the scarlet and the grey, those being the 
colours of the skins of the kernels. Filberts are really never 
good till they are quite ready to drop out of the husk, or green 
shell, and until the bud ends of them are white : if taken out of 
the husk at an earlier stage than this the kernels will shrivel. 

27 1 . GOOSEBERRY. -This is a fruit, which, in all its qualities, 
is upon a par with the currant, whether for eating in its natural 
state, for cooking, or for preserving ; for, though we in England 
da not commonly make use of green currants, in America they 
always make use of them in preference to green goosberries : 
in which respect, as in a great many others, the people of that 
country have taken their habits from the northern parts of England. 
When the green currants are used in a cooked state, the ripe 
gooseberries are used in that state. Gooseberries are propagated, 
planted out, trained, and pruned, in precisely the same manner as 
directed for currants. See paragraph 268. Neither of these little 
shrubs should be planted by the side of walks, where they inter- 
fere in a very troublesome manner with the cultivation of the plats 
and borders. They should have a piece of ground devoted to 
their exclusive occupation, and should be planted at distances 
sufficient to allow of going round them conveniently to gather the 
fruit. For gooseberries and currants there might be plenty of 
room in a part of the wall between the hedge and the garden. 
Sometimes currants are placed against a wall facing to the north ; 
and their fruit, if properly protected, will hang on to the latter end 
of October, or later. These two very useful fruits have most 
destructive enemies in the small birds, especially the sparrows and 
the finches, which feed upon their fruit-buds, and upon the fruit 
when very young ; and the blackbirds, thrushes, and some others 
which feed upon them when ripe. To keep the birds off in the 
spring, see par. 29<5. As to the preserving of currants and 
gooseberries until late in the fall, if you have preserved them until 
they be ripe, it is a much easier matter. If the currant-tree be 



190 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



against a wall, nothing is more easy than to cover it over with a 
mat nailed to the wall ; and a standard tree is covered completely 
by a couple of good new mats, well joined together and closely 
drawn round at the bottom, and fastened round the stem of the 
tree. Trees, however, subject to this discipline do not bear so 
well the next year. The sorts of gooseberries are very numerous. 
The following is the list cultivated in the King's gardens : Clarety 
Early Li?icobi, Golden Drop, Goliah, Green-gage, Imperial, 
Keens Seedling, Lomaxs Victory, Old Briton, Pope,Rumhullion, 
Warrington. The Keen's Seedling, raised by Mr. Keen at 
Islington, is valued very much on account of its tliorns, which are 
so numerous and so sharp and so well placed as to keep the small 
birds from the buds and the young fruit. To this list I will add 
a list of the best Lancashire gooseberries, which I have obtained, 
through the kindness of a friend, from Lancashire this summer 
(1832) ; Green, Defiance, Fair-play, Glorious, Walnut, Memy- 
man, Moses, Xo-hribery, Grove. Yellow, Good-intent, Golden- 
globe, Golden-meal, Tim Bobbin, Sir Charles Wolsley. White, 
Ambush, Bonny-lass, Counsellor Brougham, Diana, Empress, 
Fair-lady, Lovely-lass. Red, Red-walnut, Chance, Grand Turk, 
Nonsuch, Sizer, Tarragon, Earl Grosvenor , Lancashire Lad. For 
many years it has been the fashion to give the preference to goose- 
berries of a large size, and the people of Lancashire (chiefly the 
weavers) have been famous for their success in this way ; but, as 
quality is far preferable to size, 1 regret the almost total disap- 
pearance of the little smooth black gooseberry, and of the little 
hairy red gooseberry, both of which have very thin skins, and are 
of flavour delicious. The big gooseberries are nearly all skin, 
and the pulp is of a veiy mean flavour. For several years I have 
not seen a black gooseberry-tree in any garden except that of 
some old farm-house ; but I would earnestly recommend to the 
reader to obtain these two sorts, if he can. 

272. GRAPE.— See VINE. 

273. HUCKLEBERRY.— I do not recommend the cultivation 
of this in a garden ; though two or three rods of ground may very 
well be bestowed upon it. It grows wild in the heaths of Surrey, 
Sussex, and Kent, and in many other parts of the kingdom, and is 
a very good fruit for tarts, when mixed with currants, and by no 
means bad to eat in its raw state. The benefit of cultivation 
w ould doubtless make the fruit larger and of finer flavour. 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



191 



274. MEDLAR. — A very poor thing, indeed, propagated by 
grafting on pear-stocks or crab-stocks. It is hardly worth notice, 
being, at best, only one degree better than a rotten apple. 

275. MULBERRY.— This tree is raised from cuttings or from 
layers after the manner directed under those heads. It is planted 
out like an apple or a pear-tree. It should not stand in the 
kitchen garden, for it grows to a great size, and should have grass 
beneath to receive the falling fruit, which is never so good when 
gathered from the tree. It is well known that silk-worms feed 
on the mulberry leaf, especially on that of the white mulberry, 
which is cultivated for that purpose in France and Italy, and 
which grows wild in America, bearing prodigiously. The other 
sort is the red mulberry, or purple, as it ought to be called, and 
this is the only sort that is common in England. 

276. MELON. — As to the rearing of Melons, that has been 
fully treated of in the foregoing Chapter. The sorts is all that we 
have to do with here. The following is the list of those cultivated 
in the King's gardens : Early Cantaleupey Early Leopard, Early 
PolignaCjEarlyRomana, Green-fleshed netted, Green-fleshedRocTt, 
Bosse^ s Early Rock, Black Rock, Silver Rock, Scarlet-fleshed Rock* 
In America, there is a melon of oblong shape, of small size, and of 
most delicate flavour. They call it the nutmeg melon ; the vines 
are very slender. It is quick in bearing, its colour, when ripe, is 
of a greenish yellow, and its flesh very nearly approaching to 
white. This the finest melon that I ever tasted. The great 
things that come from France, sometimes, are very little better 
than a squash or a pumpkin. I had some white-coated melons, 
the seed of which came from Spain : they weighed from eight to 
twelve pounds a-piece ; but were, in point of flavour, not a bit 
better than a white turnip. The rock melons of various sorts are, 
in my opinion, but very poor things ; there is no part of them, 
except just the middle, that is not hard, unless you let the fruit 
remain till it be nearly rotten. Indeed all the red-fleshed melons 
are hard ; and I never have seen any melon of that description 
that I really liked to eat. The little American melon, which is 
grown there in great quantities in the natural ground, may be 
eaten all out with a spoon, leaving a rind at least not thicker than 
a shilling : it has twice the quantity of eatable pulp of a great 
rock melon. But there is the water-melon, resembling other 
melons only in its manner of growing, and somewhat in the shape 



192 



FEU ITS. 



[chap. 



and size of the leaf. The size of these may be put down at from 
ten to thirty pounds weight. The flesh is not at all like that of 
other melons. From the skin inwards, an inch wide, it is white, 
like the flesh of a green cucumber, but harder ; after that, towards 
the centre of the fruit, come ribs resembling long honey-combs, 
and, except that the colour is pink, or between pink and scarlet, 
looking precisely like so much frozen snow. This is the part that 
is eaten ; and the fruit is called the Water melon, because these 
ribs actually instantly turn to water in your mouth. This is the 
favourite fruit of all ranks and degrees, and of all ages, in hot 
countries ; and, when the weather is very hot, the refreshing 
effects of tasting the fruit are really surprising. In England, this 
sort of melon may be cultivated in the same manner, though with 
some more difficulty than the common sorts or musk melons ; but 
they want greater heat and more room. I have grown them very 
fine in England ; and I have now a pot of plants to repeat the 
attempt this year (1828). The seed is large and black, and the 
coat, after the melon gets to be of considerable size, is always of 
the deepest green. One great difficulty is to know when the fruit 
is ripe ; for it emits no odour, like the musk melon, and never 
changes its colour, not even after the whole of the inside is rotten. 
In America, there is only here and there a man skilful enough to 
ascertain, by rapping his knuckles upon the fruit, whether the 
fruit be ripe. Unskilful people plug them ; that is to say, take 
out a piece, as you do out of a cheese, to taste it, and then re- 
place the plug. Other melons generally become ripe in about five 
or six weeks after they begin to swell : in the case of water melons, 
the best way would probably be to write down the time of setting 
and beginning to swell of each fruit; and to allow seven weeks, 
perhaps, instead of six weeks, before you cut the fruit. 

277. NECTARINE.— To be propagated, planted, trained and 
pruned precisely in the same manner as directed for the peach. 
Nectarines rarely succeed in England so well as peaches. They 
do not ripen so well : they get into a shrivelled state before they 
are ripe, the cause of which I never have been able to ascertain. 
The sorts are numerous. Those cultivated in the King's gardens 
are the following : Early Newington, Late Newington, Brugnon, 
Violette hative, Du Tellier's, Elruge, Fairchild's, Late Genoa, 
Murray, White. There are two other nectarines, the Sweet 
Violet, and the Temple, I recommend the White French, a very 



VI-] 



LIST OF FKUITS. 



beautiful fruit, and a great and a constant bearer, the Violette 
hdtivey and the Du Tellier's. I have never knov\'n the rest to 
ripen well. The White French, though not of so very tine a 
flavour as the other three, is so beautiful a fruit and so great a 
bearer that no garden should ever be without it. To preserve the 
blossoms will come under the head of peach ; and the thinning of 
the fruit has already been spoken of under the head of apricot ; 
the rules there given relative to this matter being applicable to 
all fruit trees that grow against a wall or in espalier. 

278. NUT. — The mere hazel-nut, such as is produced in the 
coppices, and in quan tides so prodigious that, in the year 1826, it 
was calculated that there were a greater number of four-bushel 
sacks of nuts at Weyhill fair than of bags of hops ; though all 
the hops grown at Farnham and a considerable part of those 
grown in Kent, are taken to that fair ; of course this is not a 
thing for a garden, nor even for an orchard ; but there are certain 
nuts called Cob-nuts , of three times the bulk of the common nut, 
and with kernels of nearly as fine flavour as that of the filbert. 
These are propagated, planted, trained, and pruned, in precisely 
the same manner as the filbert ; for the seed will not produce a 
tree to resemble the fruit of the original tree, except by mere 
accident. 

279. PEACH. — The propagation, planting, training, and 
pruning, have already been spoken of fully ; but I have here 
to speak of the preserving or protecting of the blossoms of wall- 
trees. The peach, like the nectarine, will bear, and sometimes 
ripen the fruit well, against a wall facing the west ; facing the 
east, neither does well ; and the proper situation of both is a 
wall facing the south. Here the situation is as warm as our cli- 
mate will suffer it to be ; but the bloom comes out at so early a 
season that that season is always a time of anxiety with the gar 
dener, on account of the frosts by which the blossoms are 
frequently so severely attacked as to prevent the coming of any 
crop at all. To protect the blossoms, therefore, against the frost 
is a matter of great importance. The boughs of the yew-tree and 
other evergreens, or the spreading parts of fern, are used for 
this purpose. Some people nail up mats in the evening and take 
them oft' in the morning ; but to mat is very tiresome ; and, as to 
the boughs and the fern, they must remain on day and night ; 
and, what with the putting them on and the taking them ofl^ and 

o 



i94 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



their keeping off the sun and air from Ihe buds and the fruit, they 
generally do as much harm as good. Frosts descend ; that is to 
say, their destructive effect comes down upon a tree perpendicu- 
larly. It is not the cold that destroys the germ of the fruit. It 
is the wet joined to the cold. That which is dry will not freeze ; 
frost has power ®n those things only which have moisture in them ; 
and though there is moisture in the blossom, that is not sufficient 
of itself to give the frosts the power of destruction. When frosts 
come without rain or dews, they do very little harm to blossoms. 
Therefore, the thing to be desired is something to keep oif the 
wet during the time that the blossom is becoming a fruit. The 
best way of doing this is to have something going out from the 
top of the wail to about a foot and a half wide, which might 
remain day and night, until the dangerous season were over. 
The thing recommended by a very able and experienced French 
writer, M. De Comble, is a board of that width, supported by 
posts at convenient distances. These posts, however, besides 
their unsightliness, I object to on account of the holes that must 
be made for placing them in the ground. To obviate this, and 
to cause the operation to be little troublesome, I would, in the 
building of my wall, have, in the row of bricks next to the top 
row, what the bricklayers call a wooden brick, at suitable dis- 
tances. In these wooden bricks (to be made of the most durable 
wood) might be holes for the purpose of admitting the end of a 
stout piece of iron, about perhaps two feet long, besides the part 
necessary to enter into the brick. When the blooming season 
arrived, and just before the blossoms began to burst, these pieces 
of iron would be put into the holes in the bricks and there fastened 
by means easily to be invented ; upon these pieces of iron the 
boards might be laid all along the wall ; the boards might be 
fastened down to the pieces of iron by holes made in the former 
to admit a small cord to fasten the former to the latter, and thus 
the whole would remain safe against the power of the winds until 
the season arrived when the fruit would be out of danger. The 
board might be placed rather in a sloping direction, in order to 
prevent rains from pouring upon it and running down the wall. 
When done with, these protecting materials might be safely laid 
asidej until the next year : here is a method, at once little expen- 
sive, little troublesome, and not at all annoying to the trees, and 
perfectly effectual. As to the thinning of the fruit, greater care is^ 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



195 



if possible, necessary here than in the case of the apricot. No 
single shoot should, on any account, be suffered to bear more than 
two peaches ; and if it be not a strong shoot, not more than one ; 
and this for the reasons amply given under the head of the apricot ; 
where I ought to have observed that it is not the producing of 
the pulp which requires the great elfort from the tree ; but the 
bringing of the seed to perfection ; so that, though you are to 
have the same weight of peaches on a tree that should bear a 
hundred, as on a tree that should bear two hundred, still the effort 
required from the tree would be only half as great in the former 
case as in the latter ; because, in the former, there would be only 
half the number of seeds. The sorts of peaches are very nume- 
rous. I shall first give the list cultivated in the King's gardens, 
and then give my opinion, founded on experience. Catherine, 
Incomparable, OldNewington, Royal Pavey, Bears Early, Sour- 
dine, Chancellor, Early Purple, Early Vineyard, French Mignonne, 
Gallande, Montagne, Nohlesse, Persique, Red Magdalen, Royal 
George, Teton de Venus, Yellow Alberge. The list of peaches 
which I recommend are, the Early Anne, not very fine but early, 
and a constant bearer, the Double Montagne, the Early Montau- 
bon, the French Mignonne, the Grosse Mignonne, the Royal George, 
the Noblesse, the Early Gallande, the Late Gallande, the Van- 
guard, the Bellegarde, the Chancellor, and the Violette hative. 
These are the best peaches, according to my observation ; and, 
after the Early Anne, I have placed them as they appear to me 
to be the best quality ; that is to say, the best first, and the least 
good last. la point of bearing, the Royal George is a famous 
peach, and it is not much excelled in any other respect. Peaches 
should never be gathered (and the same with regard to nectarines) 
until just about to drop from the tree. They are not to be pulled ; 
and if they do not come off with just putting your hand under 
them and giving them a little touch, they are not ripe ; and an 
unripe peach is a very poor thing. Some people place a net along 
in front of the tree, tacked on one si .e to the wall, and supported 
on the other by little forked sticks, in order to catch the fruit 
when they fall, and to prevent bruising. And this is a very good 
way when you have not time to make an individual examination of 
the fruit ; but, if one fall upon another, a bruising takes place in 
spite of the swagging situation of the net. Peaches and nectarines 
also may be preserved like apricots ; and they make, if possible, 

o '2 



196 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



Still better pies and tarts ; though, for these purposes, they should 
not be quite dead ripe . The greatest possible attention must be 
paid to have your trees of the right sort. When gentlemen go to 
a nurserv to choose trees, and especially trained trees, they are too 
apt to be captivated by the appearance of the plant; but as ill 
weeds grow apace, so it is with fruit-trees. A Catherine or a ^dag- 
dalen peach would be of twice the size in the same space of time 
asa French Jilignonne or a Jlontauhon ; and, indeed, it may be laid 
down as a general rule that, in proportion as the fruit excels, the 
stature of the tree is puny and its growth slow : it is the same 
through almost everything in nature, and it would be strange, 
indeed, if peach-trees formed an exception. With regard to the 
diseases to which the peach-tree is subject, and the enemies that 
it is exposed to, mention will be made of these hereafter. 

280. PEAR. — The propagating and planting have already been 
noticed ; because everything in those respects said of the apple is 
applicable to the pear. In the rearing of orchards of pears also, 
the rules for the rearing of apple orchards apply in all respects 
whatever : and the reader should, therefore, now turn to those 
rules. Pears, in a still greater degree than apples, demand espa- 
lier training if they are of tine sorts. Indeed, these fine sorts, the 
greater part of which have come from France, are worthv of a good 
wall, facing the west, the east, or the north. As to the training 
and pruning of them, the rules are precisely those described under 
the head oi^spalier, which see. Pears very seldom bear upon 
the last year's wood : but upon spurs, in like manner as the apple 
does. No standard pear-tree, any more than a standard apple- 
tree, should have place in a garden. All the reasons given for 
training apples in the espalier form apply to pears, and with still 
greater force ; for it is perfectly useless to attempt to get fine 
pears upon standard-trees. ]\Iost trees will bear ; but the fruit 
will not ripen, and will not be of good flavour even if they do. I 
have mentioned before that the stocks for pears are pears raised 
from the pip, quinces raised from cuttings or layers, or white-thorn 
raised from the stones. For wall-trees or espalier trees, quince-stocks 
are the best ; and that these may be had from the pips is proved 
bv this fact, that I have now more than a thousand young pear- 
trees grafted upon quince-stocks raised from the pips. I got the 
pips from America, where quinces are grown in great abundance. 
It would be difficult to get the pips here, and, therefore, quince- 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



197 



stocks must generally be raised from layers or cuttings. The 
quince-stocks are the best ; because they do not force up wood so 
big and so lofty as the pear-stocks. The white-thorn is very dura- 
ble and has a dwarf tendency ; but it is apt to send out suckers ; 
and certainly does not produce a tree so fruitful in its early stages 
as the quince-stock : the sorts of pears are almost endless. The 
French authors mention a hundred and fifty-two sorts. I shall 
insert the list from the Hortus Kewinsis, and then mention those 
sorts which I think may content any man : It is : Aston-town 
Pear, Autumn Bergamot, GanseVs Bergamot, Summer Bergamot, 
Brown Beurree, Golden Beurree,WhiteBeurree, Bishop's Thumh, 
Winter Bon-chretien, Williams's Bon-chretien, Citron des Carmes, 
Chaumontelle, Crasanne, Colmar, B'Anch, Jargonelle, Lammas, 
Martin sec ^ Bed Doyenne, Summer Rousselet , St. Germain, Swan s 
Egg, Verte-longue, Vir gouleuse, Windsor , Catillac, Br. Uvedale's 
St. Germain. The only pears that I think necessary are, for the 
summer, the Green Chisel, which is the earliest of all, and if the 
fruit come from a tree well trained and pruned, it is by no means a 
mean pear ; the Catherine pear, which is a little long pear with a 
beautiful red cheek ; it does not rot at the heart as some pears 
do, and is nearly as great as a bearer as the Green Chisel itself, and 
that is a great bearer indeed. The Summer Bergamot ; and the 
Summer Bon-chretien. The autumn pears are the Brown Beurree, 
the Autumn Bergamot, and particularly the GanseVs Bergamot, 
which, in my opinion, very far surpasses the Brown Beurree. The 
winter pears that w ould satisfy me are the Winter Bon-chretien, 
the Colmar, the Crasanne, and the Poire d' Auch, that is to say, 
the pear of the city of Auch in France. Pears for cooking are 
Parkinson s pear, the Catillac, and Uvedale's St. Germain. Be- 
sides these, there are two pears which I have propagated from 
cuttings brought from Long Island, and which appeared to have 
no name there : I call the one the Long Island Autumnal Pear, 
the very finest fruit of the pear kind, w ithout any exception, that I 
ever tasted in my life. When ripe, which it is early in October, it 
is of a greenish yellow colour, weighs about three quarters of a 
pound, actually melts in your mouth, and, with a little care, keeps 
well to the middle of November. The other is what 1 call the 
Long Island Perry Pear, which is of a middling size, very hard, 
and very rough to the taste when raw ; but this pear, when baked, 
or stewed and then preserved, is the finest thing of the kind that 



198 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



I ever saw. To these recommendations may be added that this 
tree is as great a bearer as the Green Chisel itself ; and, which is 
rather singular of the pear and apple kind, the three years that I 
was in Long Island, these trees were loaded with fruit every year. 
Cattle and hogs are turned into the orchards of America to live and 
fatten upon the fruit : they take up from the ground those which 
they like best ; or they feed from the lower branches of the trees. 
I never perceived my cattle extremely anxious about other fruit ; 
but, to get at the perry pears, the steers and oxen used to raise 
themselves upon their hind-legs, which I very rarely saw them do 
in the case of any other tree. Their strong jaws could mash them; 
and they therefore were able to ascertain their sugary quality. 
Raw, they will keep all the winter long, and until the month of 
iSIay, and still be as solid and as hard as ever. I am sure that 
this is the best pear in the world for cooking, and, I think, for 
the making of perry. With regard to the gathering of pears for 
the table, the rules are precisely the same as those laid down in 
the case of the apple : though it may be observed that summer 
pears (which keep but for a short time) ought to be gathered a 
little while before they be ripe, and especially the Green Chisel 
and the Catlierine. 

281. PLUiSI. — As to the sort of stock, it must be the seed of 
the plum, as mentioned under the head of Propagation. The 
plum is budded in general, and not grafted : so is the cherry ; but 
both mav be grafted, and this is the common practice in America. 
As to the management of the budded plant, and as to planting 
out, directions have before been given, in the case of the peach, if 
against a wall 5 and, in the case of the espalier apple, if in the 
form of the espalier. Plums do not require so much room as other 
wall-trees ; nor do they require so much as apples, or pears, or 
cherries, in espalier. They bear generally upon spurs, seldom on 
the last year's wood ; for training and pruning against a wall, the 
rules laid down under the head of Apricot exactly apply ; and all 
the objections to standards, mentioned under the head of Apple, 
equally apply here. Against a wall, plums are placed on walls 
facing the east, the west, or the north ; and the Green-gage (queen 
of all plums) is finer when it has a northern aspect than when 
much exposed to the sun : it is not so sugary; but it is larger, comes 
in more by degrees, and is, in fact, of finer flavour than when ex- 
posed to a liot sun. As to the sorts of plums : those cultivated 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



199 



in the King's gardens are as follows : Red Bonmn Magnum^ White 
Bonum Magnum, Catherine^ Coes Golden Drop, Damascene, 
Drap d'or, F other ingliam, Blue Gage, Green Gage, German 
Prune, Imperatrice, Mirahelle, Morocco, Early Orleans, Late 
Orleans, Blue Perdrigon, White Perdrigon, Precoce de Tours, 
Queen Mother Plum, Royale de Tours, Simiennes, Wine-sour, or 
Windsor Goliah. The Gi^een-gage and the Orleans are the most 
fashionable plums ; though the Blue Gage, which comes late in the 
fall, is, in my opinion, one of the finest of plums ; and it is a very 
great bearer. All plums may be preserved w ith sugar : the green- 
gage or the blue-gage would be the best ; but damsons and hul- 
laces are generally used, because they come more abundantly, and, 
of course, are not so difficult to obtain. The Magnum Bonums 
are fit for nothing but tarts and sweet-meats. Magnum is right 
enough ; but, as to honum, the word has seldom been so com- 
pletely misapplied. 

282. QUINCE. — There is an apple-shaped and a pear-shaped. 
It is not a fruit to be eaten raw ; but to be put into apple-pies 
and some other things. They are to be preserved like apples ; 
and the trees are raised from cuttings or layers. 

283 . RASPBERRY.— There are two sorts, distinguished bytheir 
colours of red and white. There are some of each that bear a 
second crop in the autumn. The largest of raspberries is called 
the Antwerp, and a very fine fruit it is. Raspberries are propa- 
gated from offsets taken from the old stool : these are taken off in 
the fall and they bear the next year. The stools ought to stand 
in rows at six feet apart, and at three feet apart in the row. It is 
very curious that in the northern countries of America, Nova 
Scotia and New Brunswick for instance, the raspberry p^ant dies 
completely down in the fall of the year, and new shoots come up 
again out of the ground in the spring much about after the manner 
of fern. These shoots bear the first year, though they do not 
make their appearance above ground until June ; and where the 
land is clear of high trees, and here the August sun has shrivelled 
up the leaves of the raspberries, these shrubs form a sheet of red 
for scores of miles at a stretch. They are the summer fruit of the 
wild pigeon and a great variety of other birds. I once thought 
that raspberries would never bear upon the shoot of the year in 
England ; but I have frequently, of late years, seen them bear 
upon such shoots. The stems of raspberries should be prevented 



200 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



from bending down, when loaded with leaves and with fruit, by 
stakes put along the side of the rows, and by little rods tied to 
these stakes. Every stool will send out, during summer, a great 
number of shoots. When the leaf is down, these should be all 
taken away, except about four to produce fruit the next year. 
The shoots that have borne during the summer die in the autumn : 
these also should be removed ; and, in November, and again in 
March, all the ground should be well and truly digged ; and the 
weeds should be kept down completely during the whole of the 
summer. One manuring in three years will be sufficient. The 
common little raspberry is but a poorish thing ; and every one 
should take care to have the Antwerp if possible. Raspberries, 
when gathered, will not bear much keeping or pressing : they are 
a very delicious fruit when taken at the proper time ; but if put 
together in too great quantities, whether they be gathered care 
fully or not, they will taste badly directly, and, in twelve hours, they 
will be sour. Raspberries, like currants, are sometimes made use 
of, with the assistance of sugar, to make wine, and, in America, 
where strength is a great requisite, to make brandy ; that is to 
say, a parcel of brandy and sugar is put amongst the juice of the 
raspberries : these things I, for my part, totally disapprove of : 
that which we call currant wine, is neither more nor less than red- 
looking weak rum. The strength coming from the sugar; and 
gooseberry wine is a thing of the same character, and, if the fi uit 
were of no other use than this, one might wish them to be extir- 
pated. Ptople deceive themselves. This thing is called wine; 
but it is mm : that is to say, an extract from sugar. 

284. SERVICE. — A tree of the woods, where it bears a thing 
between a sloe and a haw. It is totally unfit to be eaten ; and, 
therefore, I shall say no more about it. 

285. STRAWBERRY.— Verv different from the last article 1 
This is a fruit exceeded in no one respect (except that of keeping) 
but by very few ; and surpassing a very great majority of the fruits 
of this country. It is so well known that to describe either plant 
or fruit would be almost an insult to the reader. I shall, there- 
fore have to speak only of the different sorts, and to describe the 
manner of propagating and cultivating the plants, so as to ensure, 
or, at least, give the best chance of, line fruit and large crops, no 
man ever having found that he had too much of this excellent fruit. 
Strawberry plants are raised in the following manner : the plant. 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



201 



while it is bearing, sends forth runners along upon the ground : 
these runners have several joints, and, at every joint, there comes 
out a root which penetrates down into the ground. Each of these 
roots sends up a plant ; so that the runner, if it extend to a yard 
or two, as it frequently will, would, perhaps, produce ten or a 
dozen plants. All these plants, if cut from the runner and planted 
out, would grow ,• but all of them would not bear the first year if 
so planted out. The runners begin to start usually in May, not 
making much progress at first, on account of the coldish weather ; 
but, by the middle of June, the runners have produced an abun- 
dance of plants. You take the earliest and stoutest of these, 
plant them out before the end of the first week in August, and 
these plants will bear abundantly the next year. Great care must 
be taken in this planting. The ground should be made rich and 
fine : the root is but small, and the weather is hot ; therefore, the 
root should be fixed well in the ground with the fingers ; and a 
little rain or pond water should be given to the plants. They 
should be attended to very carefully to see that worms do not tear 
them out of the ground or move them at all : the ground should 
be moved frequently between them, approaching as near to the 
plant as possible. By November, the plants will be stout : the 
winter, however severe, will do them no injury ; and, in the month 
of June, when only a year old, they will produce a crop worth 
fifty times the labour bestowed upon them. When planted out, 
they ought to be placed from three to five in a clump, each plant 
at a few inches from the other. The clumps should be in rows 
of three feet apart, and, if it were four, it would be so much the 
better, and at three feet apart in the row. To cultivate straw- 
berries in hedsy sufiering them to cover the whole of the ground 
with their runners and young plants, is a miserable method, pro- 
ceeding from the suggestions either of idleness or of greediness, 
and sure to lead to the defeating of the object of this latter. Straw- 
berries will bear a little in this way, though not much ; but the 
fruit will be small and of insipid flavour. Neither should eveji 
the clumps be suffered to stand to bear for more than two years. 
I have sometimes tried them the third year, bnt have never found 
it answer. But then to have new clumps is so easy that this can 
form an objection with no one. Having need of a certain num- 
ber of clumps, you have only to take up those that have borne 
for two years, and plant just the same number of new ones. To 



202 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



remove strawberries from one place to another is the easiest 
thing in the world : you have nothing to do but to give a chop 
with a spade round the clump ; take it up and put it in the place 
where you wish to have it. This may be done at any time be- 
tween October and ^lay without the smallest chance of injuring 
the crop : to all its other excellent qualities, the strawberry adds 
hardiness of the plant, in a swamp on a bank, amidst rocks, and 
upon the tops of walls, I have seen strawberries growing and bear- 
ing ; but stifling they will not endure ; and, therefore, if you want 
the industry and care to plant them at suitable distances and to 
keep them clear of grass and weeds, never expect a crop of straw- 
berries. Before I come to speak of the different sorts, let me 
notice three things ; preserving strawberries from the birds and 
slugs ; keeping them from being covered with dirt by the heav'y 
rains ,* and giving them water if the ground be at all dry. As to 
the first of these, the wood-pigeons, the common pigeons, the 
doves, the blackbirds, the jack-daws, the thrushes, and even some 
of the small birds, invade the strawberry clumps, and, if unresisted, 
destroy a great part of the fruit. In this case, which happens 
when there are woods and shrubberies at hand, nothing is a pro- 
tection but a net, held up by hoops or little forked sticks. The 
slug is a still more bitter enemy ; and, in some seasons, where 
strawberries are suffered to run together in beds, more than half 
the fruit is consumed or spoiled by the nasty and mischievous 
reptiles. The remedy is to examine the clumps well just as the 
strawberries are beginning to be ripe. See that there are no slugs 
about the stems of the leaves, and then make a little circle of hot 
lime, at half a foot or so at the extremity of the leaves of the 
clumps. No slug will enter that magic circle; but, if rain come, 
or even heavy dews, the lime becomes slack and powerless, and a 
little more must be put upon the circle, the least dust in the 
world being enough. The other precaution ; namely, to keep the 
fruit from being beaten by the rain down amongst the dirt, short 
grass-mowings, or moss, the latter being the best of the two, 
should be laid round the stems of the plants, just as the fruit be- 
gins to ripen. This will completely guard against the evil : come 
what rain will, the fruit will always be clean. The last thing that 
I have to mention is the watering ; and a real good watering 
with rain-water, or pond-water, should be given just when the 
blossoms are falling and the fruit begins to set. Blacking the 



VI.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



203 



ground over with the rose of the watering-pot is of no use at all ; 
the water should be poured out of the nose of the pot, held close 
down to the plant ; and one gallon of water, at least, should be 
given at one time to every clump of plants. If the weather be 
very hot in June, even while the fruit is ripening, and while you are 
gathering strawberries, they might have another such watering, 
and that would be enough. Nothing have I ever found more dif- 
ficult than, behind my back, to secure an honest watering. Wa- 
tering-pots, w^hen full, are heavy; the distance may be great, and 
few men like to carry heavy things for any long continuation. 
Just turn your back, and they merely wet the ground ; and if you 
return, you see that the strawberries have all been watered ; but 
(and mind this), go the next day, if the weather have continued 
fair, and you will then see how you have been cheated. Straw- 
berries like good, deep, and rich land : holding land, as the people 
in the country call it : they will grow^ almost anywhere, and will 
produce more or less of fruit ; but, if you mean to have fine straw- 
berries, you must have good land ; therefore, make the land as 
good as you can make it. As to the sorts of strawberries, the 
scarlet is the earliest ; and some people like it ; the hautbois (or 
high-stalked), the Kew Pine, the Chili, the White Alpine and the 
Red Alpine; w^hich two latter are vulgarly called icood straw- 
herries. The hautboy has a musky and singular flavour as wlel 
as smell, and some people prefer it to all others. But the great 
strawberry of all, now-a-days, is that which was some years ago 
raised from seed by Mr. Keen of Islington, which is therefore 
called the Keen's seedling ; and this strawberry, which is the only 
one used for forcing in the King's gardens, has nearly supplanted 
every other sort. It is early ; it is a prodigious bearer ; the 
fruit is large, and very large ; and it surpasses, in my opinion, all 
others in flavour. I gathered some of the Kew Pine (for manv 
years thought the best of all) ; at the same time I gathered some 
of the Keens seedling : I put the two parcels down upon the 
table before several persons, who tasted both in order to form a 
judgment ; and every one of them said that the Keens seedling 
was the best, I having taken care not to let any of them know 
w^hich was which. But the London market speaks for the 
character of this strawberry. Notwithstanding habit and pre- 
judice, the London gardeners have found that no other strawberry 
will sell ; and, in fact, there is hardly any other now brought to 



204 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



the markets. As to the Chili (nearly as large as a pigeon's egg), 
it is very little superior in iiavour to the potato. But I have 
recently discovered (1833), or rather Sir Charles Wolseley has 
been so good as to teach me, that there is a sort of Alpine straw- 
berry which, perhaps, taken altogether, is the most valuable of 
the whole. The French call it the Cisalpine strawberry , or the 
Strawberry of Napoleon. It is cultivated in this manner : un- 
like any other strawberry, it produces its like from the seed. The 
seed, which is very small, may be sowed in a large flower-pot, in 
the following manner at the following time. The pot should be 
filled within an inch of the top with very fine earth ; a small 
pinch of the seed should be as regularly as possible scattered over 
the earth ; and throw some more very fine earth spread over the 
seed about a quarter of an inch thick or less, being gently patted 
down upon it, and afterwards a little water given to the pot 
through a very fine watering-pot top ; and you will perceive the 
seed coming up in about ten or twelve days. This sowing should 
take place about the beginning or middle of February ; the pot 
should be placed in a green-house, or in any room where the sun 
gets at it, and should be occasionally watered. In the month of 
April, the pot should be set out of doors in a warm place, sheltered 
from heavy rains by being taken in, and sheltered also from hard 
frosts if any come. In the month of May, the plants will be fit to 
go out into the natural ground. A piece of ground should be 
made very good, digged very deep, and broken very fine, and 
especially made extremely smooth at top. With a very small 
dibber, or little stick well pointed, put the plant out, in rows, the 
rows being two feet apart, a:id the plants two feet apart in the 
row. Put only a single plant in a place ; for, though the plant 
will not be much bigger than a thread when you put it out, it 
will soon become a great tuft, multiplying itself in a manner per- 
fectly prodigious. These plants will have fine strawberries on 
them about the middle or latter end of July, and they will keep 
bearing until the hard winter frosts come and stop them. I saw, 
in the month of September last, the finest dishes of strawberries 
that I ever saw in my life at Wolseley-park, in Staffordshire. The 
p ants were then in full bearing, and there were ripe strawberries 
on the runners of that same summer. These strawberries go on 
like the orange-tree, blowing and having ripe fruit at the same 
time. The second year you must take care to take off all runners 



VI.] 



LIST OF FTIUITS. 



205 



from the tufts, and leave the tufts to bear a second year and no 
longer, for, if they do, they become so crowded into offsets that 
they do not bear much, and that which they do bear is not fine 
fruit ; so that it is necessary to make a new plantation every 
year in order always to have an abundance of strawberries. The 
tufts of last year will bear strawberries very nearly as early as the 
scarlet. All strawberries have a fragrant smell ; but a bed of 
these strawberries surpasses all others in fragrance, and, I think, 
in flavour. There are some of them red and some white, which 
may be kept distinct or not, just as you please. As to their size, 
those of Sir Charles Wolseley were a great deal larger than the 
common scarlet strawberry. In my " American Gardener/' I have 
recommended the forming of strawberry plantations into beds^ 
knowing that it was impossible to prevail upon the people in 
that country to take the pains required to cultivate them in 
clumps. 

286. VINE. — It is the practice in England to cultivate vines 
only against walls, against houses, upon roofs of houses, and 
under glass ; but, that it might be cultivated otherwise on many 
spots in the south of England, the history of the country most 
amply proves. For a series of ages there were extensive vineyards 
in England ; and wine made here very nearly as good as that of 
France. I remember seeing, when I was a boy, a beautiful vine- 
yard, in extent, I should think, of two or three acres, in the 
grounds of the estate called Painshill at Cobham, in Surrey. 
The vines were there planted in rows, and tied to stakes, in just 
the same manner as in the vineyards in France ; and, at the time 
when I saw that vineyard, the vines were well loaded with 
black-coloured grapes. The reasons why this culture has been 
dropped are of no importance at present; but the facts that I 
have stated are of great importance ; because they prove that 
vines may be raised in espalier in a warm situation in any garden 
on the south side of Warwickshire at the least. The grape-vine 
is propagated from cuttings or from layers. A layer is a shoot 
from the vine, laid into the ground in oi e part of it with a little 
sloping cut on the under side. The fore part of the shoot is then 
tacked to the wall, or a stake is driven into the ground to tie it 
to. In the fall of the year this is a young vine with a good root 
to it ; but, as vines do not remove very well, the usual way is to 
untack a shoot from the vine which grows against the wall, bring 



206 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



it out into the border opposite, sink a pretty large flower-pot 
into the border, place the cut part of the shoot into the flower- 
pot three parts filled with earth, put a nice straight stick down 
into the flower-pot at the same time, put a peg on the wall side 
of the pot to prevent the shoot from rising up, tie the top of the 
shoot to the stick, then fill the pot and the hole full of earth, and 
press it down well so as to form a little dish to hold the water. 
Soon after this is done, which ought to be in the month of 
February, cut the fore part of the shoot ofi* to within a joint or 
two of the ground, tie it firmly to the stick ; and, when it sends 
out its shoots, tie one of them to the stick, and cut the other 
away. In the fall of the year, cut off the back part of the shoot 
which attaches the tree against the wall, dig up the pot, and you 
have a vine to remove to what spot you please, to be transplanted 
by merely turning the ball out of the pot, just as you would in the 
case of a pot of cucumbers or melons. When transplanted thus 
in the fall, or any time before the middle of February, cut the 
vine down to within one or two buds of the ground, and then you 
begin to train as hereafter to be directed. The other way of 
propagating vines is by cuttings. You cut ofl", before the middle 
of February, a piece of a shoot which came out the last summer : 
this cutting should, if convenient, have, an inch or two of the last 
year's wood at the bottom of it ; but this is by no means abso- 
lutely necessary. The cutting should have four or five buds or 
joints ; make the ground rich, move it deep and make it fine. 
Then put in the cutting with the setting stick, leaving only two 
buds, or joints, above ground ; fastening the cuttings w^ell in the 
ground. Or, another, and, I think, a better, way of propagating 
vines by cuttings, is, to take in February a bud of the last year's 
wood, cutting all wood away except about half an inch above and 
half an inch below the bud, and shaving off the bark, and a little 
way into the wood straight down this inch-long piece, only let this 
shaving be on the side opposite to the bud. Bury the whole two 
inches deep, in a largish pot filled with good mould, keeping the bud 
in an upright position. Do not mind covering the bud over : it will 
shoot up through the mould, and the place behind it, from which 
you cut out the slice of bark and wood, will send out vigorous 
roots : and then, as to keeping it cool, see CUTTINGS, under 
the head of Propagation, in this Chapter. As to the training 
and pruning of vines, I have, in my book on American Gardening, 



V..] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



207 



PLATE 



given instructions for the performing of this work, in the espalier 
form. The very same instructions apply to walls and to houses, 
and also to roofs, seeing that, on roofs, it is merely a trellis- work 
lying in a sloping attitude. I have supposed a new plantation of 
vines to be made expressly for espalier training ; and, with 
several sorts of grapes, this method would succeed perfectly well 
in the south of England, in warm spots and at no great distance 
from walls facing the south. I shall therefore now repeat, with some 
little variations as to season and other circumstances, my direc- 
tions for training and pruning the vines in espalier. First look at 
plate 8 (p. 208), which represents, as well as I am able to make 

it represent, three trellis-works for 
vines. These trellis- works are to 
be five feet high, and to consist 
of little upright bars, two and a 
half inches by two inches, put two 
feet into the ground, and made 
of locust w^ood. The proper 
situation for vines would be in a 
line on the south side of the north 
wall, or on the south side of the 
south wall, and at about seven feet 
from the wall, leaving plenty of 
room for the work to be performed 
on the wall-trees as well as on the 
trellis. The length of such line 
would be 200 feet ; and, allowing 
for the thickness of the walls, and 
for the door-way coming into the 
hot-bed ground (in case you choose the south side of the 
north wall), and for the door-way going from the inner to 
the outer garden, if you choose the other wall, there would be 
space for twelve vines at sixteen feet apart. You would, therefore, 
plant your cuttings or your young vines at that distance. Look 
now at the plate above, which represents the cutting become 
a plant, or the young vine, having made its first year's shoot. 
There is no difference in the treatment ; but, in order to avoid 
unnecessary words, let us suppose it to have been a cuttmg, and 
suppose it to have been tied to a little stake during the summer. 




208 



FRUITS. 
PLATE 8. 



[chap. 




The first year of its being a vine, after the leaves are off and 
before pruning ^ is exhibited in fig. 2. The same year's vine, 
pruned in February, is exhibited in fig. 3. The vine, in its next 
summer, is exhibited, with shoots, leaves, and grapes, in fig. 4. 
Having measured your distances, put m a cutting at each place 
where there is to be a vine, leaving above ground only two joints 
or buds. From these will come two shoots, perhaps ; and, if two 
come, rub off the top one and leave the bottom one, and, in 
winter, cut off the bit of dead wood, which will in this 
case, stand above the bottom shoot. Choose, however, the 
upper one to remain, if the lower one be very weak. Or, a better 
way is to put in two or three cuttings within an inch of each 
other, leaving only one hud to each out of the ground, and taking 
away, in the fall, the cuttings that send up the weakest shoots. 
The object is to get one good shoot, coming out as near to the 
ground as possible. This shoot you tie to an upright stick, letting 
it grow its full length. When winter comes, cut this shoot down 
to the bud nearest to the ground. The next year another, and a 
much stronger shoot will come out ; and, when the leaves are off, 
in the fall, this shoot will be eight or ten feet long, having been 
tied to a stake as it rose, and will present what is described in 
fig. 1, plate 8. You must take your trellis ; that is, put in your 



V,.] 



LIST OF FRUITS. 



209 



upright locust-bars to tie the next surnmer's shoots to. You will 
want (see hg. 2) eight shoots to come out to run horizontally, to 
be tied to these bars. You must now, then, in winter, cut off youi' 
vine, leaving eight buds or joints. You see there is a mark for 
this cut at fig 1. During summer, eight shoots will come, and, 
as they proceed on, they must be tied with matting, or something 
soft, to the bars. The whole vine, both ways included, is sup- 
posed to go sixteen feet ; but, if your tillage be good, it will go 
much further, and then the ends must be cut off in winter. Now, 
then, winter presents you your vine as in fig. 2 ; and now you 
must prune, which is the all important part of the business. Ob- 
serve, and bear in mind, that little or no fruit ever comes on a 
grape-vine, except on young shoots that come out of wood of the 
last year. All the four last year's shoots that you find in fig. 2 
would send out bearers ; but if you suffer that, you will have a 
great quantity of small wood, and little or no fruit next year. 
Therefore, cut off four of the last year's shoots, as at h, fig. 3, 
leaving only one hud. The four other shoots will send out a shoot 
from every one of their buds, and, if the vine be strong, there will 
be two hunches of grapes on each of these young shoots ; and, as 
the last year's shoots are supposed to be each eight feet long, and 
as there is generally a bud at, or about, every half foot, every last 
year's shoot will produce thirty-two bunches of grapes ; every 
vine 128 bunches ; and the twelve vines 1536 ; and, possibly, nay, 
probably, so many pounds of grapes ! Is this incredible ? Take, 
then, this well known fact, that there is a grape-vine, a single 
vine, with only one stem, in the King's gardens, at his palace of 
Hampton Court, which has, for perhaps half a century, produced 
annually nearly a ton of grapes ; that is to say, 2240 pounds 
avoirdupois weight. That vine covers a space of seventy-two feet 
in length, and twenty-two in breadth. However, suppose you 
have only a fifth part of what you might have, 300 bunches 
of grapes are worth a great deal more than the annual trou- 
ble, which is, indeed, very littie. Fig. 4 shows a vine in sum- 
mer. You see the four shoots hearing, and four other shoots 
coming on for the next year, from the butts left at the winter 
pruning as at h. These four latter you are to tie to the bars as 
they advance on during the summer. When winter comes again, 
you are to cut off the four shoots that sent out the bearers 
during the summer, and leave the four that grew out of the 

P 



210 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



butts. Cut the four shoots that have borne, so as to leave but 
one hud at the butt. And they will then be sendmg out wood, 
while the other four will be sending out fruit. And thus you 
go on year after year, for your life ; for, as to the vine, it will, 
if well treated, outlive you and your children to the third, and 
even the thirtieth, generation. The vine at Hampton Court is 
now (1833) betw^een sixty and seventy years old. During 
the summer there are two things to be observed, as to pruning. 
Each of the last years shoots has thirty-two buds, and of course 
it sends out thirty-two shoots with the grapes on them, for the 
grapes come out of the two first fair buds of these shoots. So 
that here would be an enormous quantity of w ood, if it were all 
left till the end of summer. But, this must not be. When the 
grapes get as big as peas, cut off the green shoots that bear them, 
at tivo buds' distance from the fruit. This is necessary in order to 
clear the vine from confusion of branches, and also to keep the 
sap back for the supply of the fruit. These new shoots, that have 
the bunches on, must be kept tied to the trellis, or else the wind 
would tear them off. The other thing is to take care to keep 
nicely tied to the bars the shoots that are to send forth bearers the 
next year ; and, if you observe any little side-shoots coming out 
of them, to crop these off as soon as they appear, leaving nothing 
but the clear, clean shoot. It may be remarked that the butt, 
as at b, when it is cut off the next time, will be longer by a bud. 
That will be so ; but, by the third year, the vine will be so strong 
that you may safely cut the shoots back to within six inches of 
the main trunk, leaving the new shoots to come out of it where 
they will ; taking care to let but one grow for the summer. If 
shoots start out of the main trunk irregularly, rub them off as soon 
as they appear, and never suffer your vine to have any more than 
its regular number of shoots. Thus far with regard to the train- 
ing and pruning of vines in espalier. I have now to speak of 
training against a wall ; training under glass in a green-house ; 
and training against a house. If against a wall, you proceed to 
raise the young vine in precisely the same manner as before 
directed ; but, in place of carrying the trunk upright, in order 
to have bearing shoots come out of the side of it, as in plate 8, 
you cut it down to within two eyes of the bottom. Suppose you 
have got the vine, fig. 2, plate 8. Instead of bringing out from 
it four shoots of a side, bring out only the two bottom ones, cut- 



VI.] LIST OF FRUITS. 2ll 

ting the top of the trunk off pretty close down to the highest 
of the two first shoots from the bottom. These two shoots may 
be suffered to bear the first year after they come out ; but they 
are then to be suffered to remain to form limbs for the bearing 
shoots to go out of ; and these bearing shoots are to go up the 
wall perpendicularly, instead of horizontally, as they do on the 
trellis-work. All the rules for cutting out the shoots alternately 
are the same in this case as in the other. The vine might be 
trained against the wall horizontally as against the trellis-work ; 
but it would not be so convenient ; for, the two horizontal limbs 
left at the bottom may be carried to any length against a wall ; so 
that one vine would, in time, be sufficient for a wall of consider- 
able extent. I have seen such limbs forty feet long, supplying an 
abundance of bearing wood to cover the w all. If you choose you 
may, at every three or four yards' distance, cause these bottom 
limbs to touch the ground, and, if pegged down and covered with 
a little part of the earth, they would strike root there. The up- 
right bearing shoots should be tacked to the wall in a serpentine 
manner, which checks the flow of the sap and makes them bear 
better all over the vine. Under glass the training and pruning 
are precisely the same as against a wall : two limbs running along 
at the bottom of the glass, and shoots coming out, pruned, and 
tied up in the manner directed in the case of the wall. Against a 
house, you want a lofty trunk. You carry it to the height that 
the situation requires, and train by side-shoots, just in the manner 
directed for the trellis in the case of the espalier. A roof is only 
a wall lying in a sloping direction, and the training and pruning 
are precisely those directed for the wall. Such is the manner of 
pruning vines in what is called long-pruning ; but there is a 
method very different, called the short pruning, which very much 
resembles the method I have described for pruning the currant- 
tree. Instead of alternate bearing shoots, brought out of the 
trunk, as in the espalier form, for instance, you suffer these 
shoots, as in plate 8, fig. 3, to remain perpetually. They send 
out annually side-shoots. These you cut off to within one or two 
eyes of the limb, and, out of these little artifical spurs come, the 
next year, shoots to bear the fruit. The vine bears only on 
shoots that come out of the last year's wood, and therefore, these 
spurs would become too long in a very short time ; so that you 
must cut them out close to the limb, at the end of a year or two, 

p 2 



212 



IKUITS. 



[C ! 1 \ P . 



and others will be always coming out to supply their place. Whe- 
ther against a wall, under glass, against a house, or on a roof, 
you observe the same rule : your vine is furnished with per- 
petual limbs instead of being annually furnished with new and 
long shoots. Hoping that I have made this matter of training 
and pruning vines intelligible to the reader, I have now to speak 
of the management of the fruit, of the soil suitable for vines, and 
of the sorts of grapes. When the grapes get to be of the size of 
a pea, or thereabouts, they should be thinned in the bunch with a 
sharp-pointed scissors. ^lore than half of them^ and those the 
smallest, of course, should be cut out, otherwise they will not be 
so fine : and, in some cases, the fruit will be so closely pressed 
together on the bunch as to cause moulding and rotting. It is 
supposed, and I believe the fact, that thinning the grapes adds 
greath to the weight of the bunch, and certainly it heightens 
greatly the quality of the fruit. As to the soil for grapes, it 
cannot be too rich. The ground should be dug about the roots not 
only in the fall and spring, but even in summer. The earliest 
grape is what we call the hiack Julif, and what the French call the 
noir hdtlf ; the Chasselas, ^^hich is a white grape, approaching to 
a yellow, is also very early ; the Black Hamburg is a fine grape 
and a great bearer, and this is the sort of the famous Hampton 
Court vine; the White siceet-water is a very hue grape; and 
these four would satisfy me : but I shall here add the Kew list of 
grapes, and with that list I conclude this long article. Burgundy , 
Black Cluster, Black July, Common White Muscadine, Parsley- 
leaved Muscadine ; these are called, in the Hoetus Kewensis^ 
wall-grapes; then, as house-grapes, come \he Black Damascus, 
Muscat of Alexandria, Royal Muscadine, Black Frankendale, 
Black Hamhurgh, Black Prince, Black Frontignac, Grizzly 
Frontignac, Red Frontignac, ^Vliite Frontignac, White sweet- 
water, Marseilles, White Xice, Syrian. 

287. A^ALXLT. — The way to raise walnut-trees is this. 
^^ hen the walnuts are quite ripe, make them perfectly dry and 
preserve them in precisely the manner directed for the filbert. 
Sow them late in February, and the tree will be a foot high by the 
next fall. If it be to stand where it is sowed, nothing more is 
necessary than to keep the ground about it clean, and to prune 
off the Side-shoots at the bottom, always leaving a tolerable head 
until you have a clear trunk of the height that you desire. If the 



V,.] 



DISEASES OF FEUlT-ThEES 



213 



tree be to be trausplantedj you ought to take it up in the fall 
after the .spring of sowing it ; for it has a long tap-root, and will 
remove with great difficulty if you suffer it to remain for two or 
three years. When yuu rake the young plant up, cut off the tap- 
root to within six inches of the part which met the top of the 
ground : transplant it into a nursery ; let it stand there for three 
vears, and then it will remove with a good bushy root. Keep the 
side-shoots pruned off" in the manner before directed ; and the 
head of the tree will form itself. It is said that walnut-trees 
should be threshed or beaten, a saying which has certainly arisen 
from the want of a good reason for knockins: down the fruit, 
which, like nuts and filberts, should always hang tiU it drops from 
the tree. 



DISEASES AXD VERMIX, 

288. I HAVE reserved until now the remarks necessary to be 
made upon the diseases to which fruit-trees are subject : and also 
on the insects and other mischievous living things by which they 
are rajured. I have reserved, too, until now, the observations to 
be made relative to divers mischievous insects which do injui v to 
the herbaceous plants of the kitchen-garden. I shall now- speak 
of the whole under one head, which will be more convenient to 
the reader than if the remaiks with regard to them had been scat- 
tered throughout the book. 

289. CANKER, — Apple-trees are greatly afflicted by the 
canker, which is a rotting of the bark in particular spots ; pro- 
ducing, in time, the destruction of the branch or limb. If per- 
ceived when at lirst coming, it may sometimes be cut quite out ; 
and, if that cannot be done, its ravages may be stayed by paring 
off all the perished bark till you come to the quick, and cutting 
the edges of that quick very smooth with a very sharp knife, this 
bark will grow a little again and have round edges ; the place 
should be washed once or twice a year with soap and water to keep 
out the insects, which are always endeavouring to harbour round 
these w^ounded spots. As to the putting on of plaster of any 
kind, I have tried it often, and have never found it of any use. 
But, observe, neither a tree nor a limb is to be abandoned merely 



214 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



because it is cankered : in many cases, the cankered part of the 
tree bears best ; and it so happens that I have an apple-tree, at 
this time, one limb of which is half cut off by the canker ; that 
limb bears more than all the rest of the tree ; and it was from 
that very limb that I cut the branch of beautiful fall-pippins that 
were exhibited last autumn (1828) at my shop in Fleet-street. So 
that a tree is not to be despised merely because it is cankered. 
The canker comes very frequently from bruises given to the tree 
by the carelessness of gardeners, or by the friction of limbs one 
against another. It very frequently comes from the rubbing of 
limbs and branches against the stakes ; and this makes it so 
dangerous to plant great trees for an orchard. However, I have 
seen apple-trees that were old and cankered when I was a boy, 
and that continue to bear well unto this day. It is a thing to be 
guarded against, and to be got rid of if possible : it is sometimes 
fatal, but by no means generally so. 

290. COTTON-BLIGHT.— This disease makes its appear- 
ance like little bunches of cotton-wool stuck upon the joints or 
along the shoots of apple-trees, which leave, after they are rubbed 
off, little round pimples or lumps ; and it does the same with 
regard to the roots that it does to the limbs and the shoots. 
Under this w hite stuff, there are innumerable insects, which, when 
squeezed by the finger, are of the colour of blood. It is a very 
nasty thing, very pernicious to apple-trees ; and it also comes on 
the joints of vines. There is no cure but rubbing the stuff off" 
mechanically as fast as it appears, and washing the place well 
with something strong, such as tobacco juice. The potato, 
which some people look upon as so nutritious, very nearly poisons 
the water in which it is boiled ; and an Irish gentleman once told 
me that that water would cure the cotton-blight. Rubbing the 
part with mercurial ointment will certainly do it ; but then you 
must get at the root as well as at the limbs and the branches : if 
you take up a young tree that has the cotton-blight, cut the 
knobs off from the roots, cleanse the tree perfectly well and re- 
plant it, and it is very likely the disease will not return. If it 
once get complete possession of a large tree, the tree will soon 
become useless. But, as this pest spreads itself in the ground round 
about the trees, and there seems to nestle during the winter, I re- 
commend good cultivation of the ground under apple-trees, if only 
to disturb and confound the operations of this destroyer. Moving 



VI.] 



DISEASES OF FRUIT-TREES. 



215 



deeply, and two or three times, from the beginning of winter to 
the middle of April, will give it an uneasy life at least, and the 
possihility of stopping its ravages is worth the attempt. 

291. MILDEW, which the French call WHITE BLIGHT, 
seizes the spring shoots of peach and nectarine trees, makes them 
white as if dusted over with meal or lime, and fixes itself in spots 
on the fruit. I have heard of, and have seen tried, tobacco 
smoke, lime water, and several other things as remedies, all of 
which I have seen invariably to fail. All you can do is to cut 
off the shoots and leaves that have it and to suffer others to come 
out. This blight sometimes comes upon apple-trees. 

292. LICE. — Prodigious quantities of these come upon the 
points of the shoots of peaches, nectarines, and cherries, which 
cause them to curl up and become black ; and, after this, gene- 
rally, the branches suffer greatly : the only remedy is to cut these 
points off as soon as you perceive them beginning to curl. You 
may also wash the trees, or fumigate with tobacco. 

293. GUM. — All stone fruit ; cherries, plums, peaches, nec- 
tarines, and apricots, are liable to the gum, which sometimes pro- 
ceeds from injudicious pruning, and sometimes from the tree 
having but a poor root. It very frequently comes after the cutting 
out of a luxuriant branch, especially if that branch be cut off 
near to the trunk and in the spring or summer, which it never 
ought to be if it can be avoided. A tree will sometimes gum, 
and cease to gum afterwards ; and, though it gum, it will bear. 
If it continue to gum, and the gum appear in several parts of it 
at the same time, and attack the tree severely, it will soon cease 
to produce wood fit for bearing, and the sooner it is cut down 
and thrown away the better. 

294. PEACH-BUG. — This is a thing between louse and bug : 
it is of a green colour, and clings along upon the wood of the 
peach-trees, and of nectarines, of course. These are destroyed 
very quickly by fumigating the trees with strong tobacco-smoke, 
or washing them with water in which tobacco has been steeped. 
It is rather difficult to fumigate against a wall ; but, at any rate, 
the wood can be well-washed with tobacco-water. These insects, 
however, must bp destroyed by one means or another ; or they 
will spoil the crop for the year, and spoil the tree too. 

295. MAGGOT. — There is a maggot which comes in apple- 
trees and pear-trees, but particularly the former, just before the 



216 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



tree opens its blossoms. You will see the young leaves that have 
come out curl up longwise. If you open those curls, you will 
find, enveloped in a very small web, a little maggot that you 
can hardly clearly discern with the naked eye. From this, its 
birth-place, it creeps away into the cups of the blossoms, and 
there feeds upon the germ of the fruit ; and becomes a visible 
maggot a full third of an inch long, having a black head and a 
greenish body. When the blossoms are not abundant, and some- 
times even when they are, this w retched thing feeds upon the roots 
or germs of the buds, as well as upon the blossoms. ft enters 
down into the heart of the bud which has just bursted out into 
little leaves, and you will see those leaves die in the month of 
April, just as you will see cabbage-plants or lettuce-plants die 
when attacked by the grub or the wire-worm. Of a row of 
lettuce-plants, you are surprised to see one lopping its leaves 
down flat upon the ground, and the rest standing bolt upright ; 
but, if jou take it up, you will find that a grub-worm or wire- 
worm has eaten out the heart of its root. Just in like manner 
does this maggot destroy the buds of apple-trees ; and, as in the 
case of a row of lettuce-plants, it, like the grub or wire- worm, 
will, if let alone, go from bud to bud, from one end of a branch 
to the other. The killing of the buds by these maggots is one 
great cause of the canker in apple-trees : they make a wound 
which descends dow'U to the very wood : I have, in numerous in- 
stances, watched the progress of the wound, and have seen it torn 
to complete and destructive canker. As to prevention, in this 
case, I am not certain of the source of the maggot ; but I think 
it proceeds from eggs deposited upon the bark during the previous 
summer, and clinging there until the spring. What I have done 
is to wash all the limbs and stout branches of the trees w'ell in the 
month of March with a hard-brush, soap, and tobacco juice; 
and certain it is that my trees have not been infested by these 
maggots since. If you find them at work upon a tree, watch the 
flagghjg of the buds ; cut the flagging buds out with a sharp pen- 
kniie : you will find a maggot in the heart, and will, of course, 
put an end to its spoliations. This is another reason why espaliers 
are better than standards : this work is easily performed upon 
an espalier : but, on a standard, impossible. Sometimes you 
see the petals of the blossoms curl up ; and there you find the 
maggot. It is better to take one blossom out of the bunch at 



V,.] 



DISEASES OF FRUIT-TREES. 



217 



once ; for, if the maggot remain, it will destroy the whole. We 
very often see whole bunches of blossoms, leaves and all, shrivel 
up suddenly : the maggot has done this, and is gone before you 
perceived the mischief. The whole of standard-trees are fre- 
quently nearly stripped in this way : people call it blight ; but, in 
general, appear to know nothing of the cause. 

296. BIRDS. — The way to keep birds from fruit, and, indeed, 
from everything else, is to shoot them, or frighten them away, or 
cover over effectually with nets the object which they covet. I 
have spoken occasionally of the care to be taken in this respect ; 
but, in all cases, where birds are very fond of the thing you have, 
you must keep them away or give up the cultivation of the thing ; 
for it is time and labour thrown away to raise things and then let 
them be destroyed in this manner. There is one season when to de- 
fend yourself is very difficult ; I mean the spring, when the birds 
attack the huds. There are certain buds which the sparrows will 
destroy, just when they are sending out their fruit : but the great 
enemies of buds are the bulfinches, the chaffinches, and, above all, 
the greenfinches, which assail the buds of plums of all sorts in a 
most furious manner. They are hard driven for food at this time 
of the year ; and they will accutally strip whole blanches. It is, 
however, contended, by some persons, that, after all, they do no 
harm ; for that there are insects in the bud which they eat ; and 
that it is not the herbage that they want, but the animal, seeing 
that birds live upon grain, and pulse, and insects, and not upon 
green things. This is by no means true : they do live upon green 
things, or at least they eat them, as we see fowls eating grass, during 
a great part of every day. I believe that these little birds eat the 
buds, and are not at all looking after insects. The wild pigeons 
i;i America live, for about a month, entirely upon the buds of the 
sugar maple, and are killed by hundreds of thousands, by persons 
who errect bough-houses, and remain in a maple wood with guns 
and powder and shot, for that purpose. If we open the craw of 
one of these little birds, we find in it green stuff of various 
descriptions, and, generally, more or less of grass, and therefore it is 
a little too much to believe that, in taking away our buds, they 
merely relieve us from the insects that would, in time, eat us up. 
To keep birds from buds is a difficult matter. You cannot net all 
your trees ; nor can you fire with shot among your trees without 
doing a greater harm than that which you wish to prevent. Birds 



FlUIITS. 



[chap. 



are exceedingly cuiiniog in their generation ; but, h?ckilj for us 
gardeners, they do not know how to distinguish between the 
report of a gun loaded with powder and shot, and one that is only 
loaded with powder. Very frequent firing with powder will alarm 
them so that they will quit the spot, or, at least, be so timid as to 
become comparatively little mischievous ; but there is what, to me, 
is a recent discovery in this matter, and which I have hitherto 
practised with complete effect. It has the great recommendation 
of good inventions, perfect simplicity : having a bed of radishes 
or other things that you wish to keep birds from coming upon, 
stick a parcel of little pegs about a foot long into the sides of the 
bed, at distances of about three yards apart, and then take a ball 
of course white sewing cotton, tie the end of it to the top of one 
of these little sticks, and then strain the cotton on to another, 
fatening it round the top of every stick, and going in a zig-zag 
across the bed. What the little picking and scratching devils 
think of these threads I know not, but it keeps them off^ and that 
is enough for our purpose. I imagine that it inspires them with 
doubt, and as doubt has great influence upon all the human race, 
why should it not have the same upon these timid and watchful 
creatures ? 

£97. MICE. — Very troublesome creatures. They commit their 
depredations by night, and must be well looked after. Brick 
traps are the best things ; for as to poisoning them, you may 
poison at the same time your cat or your dog. Great vigilance, 
however, is required to keep down mice ; but it ought to be 
resolutely done. 

298. RATS. — If the garden be near to a house or outbuildings, 
and especially near to a farm-yard, where dogs and ferrets are not 
pretty constantly in motion, the rats will be large sharers in the 
finest of the fruit that the garden produces. On the walls, in the 
melon-bed, even in the strawberry beds, they will take away the 
prime of the dessert. They do but taste, indeed, of each, but 
then they are guests that one does not like to eat with. Here is 
absolutely no remedy other than dogs and ferrets. I have seen a 
wall of grapes pretty nearly cleared by rats, some farm buildings 
being at the backside of the walls : these nasty things must, thci C- 
fore, be destroyed by one means or another. 

299. MOLES. — These cannot get into a garden with a wall 
round it. If they come through or under the hedge, and make 



vi.l 



DISEASES OF FRUIT-TREES. 



2ig 



their workiiigs visible, they ought to be caught without delay ; 
for, if suffered to get to a head, they do a great deal of mischief, 
besides the ugliness which they produce. 

300. ANTS. — A very pretty subject for poets, but a most dis- 
mal one for gardeners ; for it is one of the most mischievous of 
all things, and most difficult of all to guard against or to destroy. 
It is mischievous in many ways, and all the sorts of ants are equally 
mischievous. Those which have their nests in little hillocks on 
the ground ; that is to say, the small ant, is the sort which most 
frequently display their mischievous industry in the gardens. I 
once had a melon-bed that underwent a regular attack from the 
community of horse-ants, as the country people call them ; that 
is, the largest ant that we know anything of. I know nothing 
but fire or boiling water, or squeezing to death, that will destroy 
ants ,• and if you pour boiling water on their nests in the grass, 
you destroy the grass ; set fire to a nest of the great ants, and you 
burn up the hedge or the trees, or whatever else is in the neigh- 
bourhood. As to squeezing them to death, they are amongst the 
twigs and roots of your trees and plants ; they are in the blossoms, 
and creeping all about the fruit ; so that, to destroy them in this 
w-ay, you must destroy that also which you wish to protect against 
their depredations. Ants injure everything that they touch ; but 
they are particularly mischievous with regard to wall- trees : where 
they attack successively bud, blossom, leaf, and fruit. There is 
no method of keeping them from the wall. They may be kept 
from mounting espaliers by putting tar round the stem of the tree, 
and round the stakes that the limbs are tied to ; but there is no 
keeping them from the waU, unless by killing them. Mr. Forsyth 
recommended to make the ground very smooth near the bottom of 
the tree that they attacked ; then to make smooth holes with a 
sharp-pointed stake or iron bar, down into which, as he says, they 
will go ; and then he recommends to pour water into these holes, 
and drown them. Monsieur de Comble recommends the laying 
of sheep's trotters or cow-heels with the skin on, near the attacked 
tree, and, when these be well covered with ants, to plunge 
them into a bucket of water, drown the ants, then put the sheep's 
trotters near the tree again to wait for another cargo. By these 
means something may be done, to be sure ; but, the true way is 
to find out the nest from which they come ; for they are extreme y 
scrupulous in this respect ; it is only one tribe that makes its 



2'20 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



attack upon one and the same object. If you look attentively, 
you will find that, in the morning, very early, they all come in the 
same direction, and that they go in exactly the same way back 
at night. Trace them to their fortress ; and, when it is quite 
night, treat them to a bucket of water that is as nearly upon the 
boil as possible. You kill the whole tribe. When my melon- 
beds were attacked by the horse-ants, I set to work to discover 
whence they came. I traced them along a brick wall. Then out 
of the garden between the door-frame and the wall. Then along 
at the bottom of the edge of the wall on the side of a lawn ; then, 
after having made an angle along the wall, going, as I thought, 
over it into a meadow on the other side. Every corner of hedge 
and ditch of that meadow was examined to discover the nest, 
but in vain. Looking back to the spot where I thought they 
went over the wall, we discovered that they turned along the top 
ot the wall, and went under the roof of a summer-house that was 
ceiled below : having lifted up a tile, there we saw bushels of 
ants with little sticks and straws, the result of years of their de- 
testable industry. A copper of water was made to boil against the 
evening. It was taken to the spot in a boiling state as nearly as 
possible ; everything was prepared for the purpose, and by mid- 
night, scarcely a handful of them were left alive ; and my melon- 
bed, which I was actually upon the point of giving up as lost, was 
suifered to proceed unmolested. The greatest care, therefore, 
ought to be taken, especially if grass ground be near the garden, 
to hunt out ants' nests, and to destroy them. 

301. SPIDER. — I do not know that the common spider does 
any harm to the gardener, and I know that it frequently does good 
by killing the flies ; but there is a red spider which is very mis- 
chievous to vines, especially when under glass. If attended to, 
however, they are easily destroyed, and the destruction of them 
should not be neglected. Plentifully washing of the trees with 
water is the great remedy, and, in hot-houses, syringes are made 
use of for this purpose. . 

302. CATERPILLAR. — Very few more mischievous creatures 
than this infest the gardens. In the first place, it is a most de- 
structive enemy of fruit-trees ; apples, pears, plums, quinces, 
medlais, and gooseberries, but particularly apples and plums are 
literally flayed alive by this nasty insect. Hundreds of trees to 
gether are, early in the month of June, very frequently completely 



VI.] DISEASES OF FRUIT-TREES. 221 

Stripped of every leaf by the caterpillars. Of their progenitors I 
know little ; but that they appear in the winter, when the leaf 
has fallen, as a little crusty shell-like ring fastened tightly round 
the twigs of the tree, and generally upon apple-trees. This o ust 
is not more than half an inch long, and it is pricked all over in 
regular rows of holes, looking something like a piece of an 
old thimble twisted round the twig. In the spring a swarm of 
little caterpillars issues from this crust, and works its way all over 
the tree ; and, to an ordinary observer, they make their first ap- 
pearance in a web formed into the shape of a bag or sort of wal- 
let attached to the branches of trees. And this bag is a small 
thing at first ; but it grows larger and larger as the caterpillars 
within it increase in size. If you open one of these bags, a goodly 
tribe glads your sight ; and, if you leave the bag till the cater- 
pillars grow too big for it and open it themselves, they sally forth 
in every direction, and strip the tree of its leaves. Prevention is 
not, however, in this case, very difficult. If they come on espa- 
liers, you pick the bag off as soon as you perceive it, and crush it 
under your foot. If they come on standard-trees, you must take 
a ladder ; but a better way is to load a gun with powder, and to 
blow the bags from the trees. If once they escape from the bag 
and go on their travels, you have no remedy. If you shake the 
tree and bring part of them to the ground, they crawl up again. 
Lime has no effect upon them ; and your only hope is that your 
other enemies, the sparrows, will lend their assistance in deliver- 
ing you from these ; and I do verily believe that, were it not for 
the sparrows, and other birds, these insects would make it next to 
impossible to cultivate gardens in England. They have no slugs 
and snails in America ; but caterpillars they have, and they some- 
times strip an orchard of every one of its leaves. There are cater- 
pillars which infest the cabbages and the Swedish turnip, and 
some other herbaceous plants. These manifestly proceed from 
the butterfly ; but, unfortunately, they do not make their appear- 
ance in little pockets or bags ; but you make the first discovery 
of the honour of the visit that they are paying you by perceiviiig 
their gnawings upon the edgings of the leaves of the plants. Let 
them alone for a little while, and they will go from cabbage to 
cabbage until there is not a bit of leaf left in the whole patch. 
They leave you the skeleton of a cabbage, taking away all the 
flesh, and leaving all the bones; that is to say, the stalk of the 



222 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



cabbage and the ribs of the leaves. These are most mischievous 
things ; they are wholly insensible to the powers of lime : in heat 
they delight ; w et will not injure them ; frost is their only de- 
stroyer ; and many a time have I prayed for w inter in order to see 
an end of the caterpillars. In order to mitigate the mischief, 
and, indeed, in a great measure to put a stop to it, look narrowly 
among your plants of the cabbage kind about the middle of the 
summer. If you see the butterflies busy, expect their followers in 
due time. Watch the plants : as soon as you see one attacked, 
take it entirely up, shake the caterpillars from it upon the ground, 
put them to death with your foot, and carry the plant away to the 
pigs. 'Tis very rarely that the wdiole or any considerable part of 
a piece of cabbages is attacked at once ; and therefore you may, 
in some measure, guard against the mischiefs of this pernicious 
insect, of which there are several sorts, some green, some brown, 
some smooth, some hairy, and all equally mischievous. 

303. SNAILS. — From the curious construction of the snail 
it is known to every body in tow^n as w^ell as country. It is very 
mischievous, and especially amongst fruit trees, where it annoys 
the fruit, as well as the leaf, but particularly the fruit. It is a 
great enemy of the apricot and the plum, both of w hich it will eat 
whether in the green or in the ripe state. It is very mischievous 
amongst the plants in the garden in general ; but its size and its 
habits and manners make it not difficult to destroy. Its places 
of harbour are behind the trunks or big limbs of wall-trees, in a 
garden, or, round the butts of the trees that form the hedge of the 
outside of the garden. Snails lie in such places all the winter 
long, and never stir till they are warmed into life in the spring. 
Many persons have kept snails for a year or more nailed up in a 
box, and have found them just as lively afterwards as if they had 
never fasted at all. In winter time, in dry and frosty weather, 
snails should be routed out from all their fastnesses, and destroyed. 
This is the most effectual way of guarding against their depreda- 
tions ; for, when the leaves come out, they have shelter, they 
are exceedingly cunning in availing themselves of that shelter ; 
but though you finally discover and kill them, they spoil your fruit 
first. 

304. SLUG. — This is a snail without a shell, and, like the snail, 
likes neither sun nor frost. Some slugs are black, others whitish, 
others yellow. The great black slug and the yellow slug live chiefly 



V.J 



DISEASES OF FREIT-TKEES. 



223 



Upon worms, and do not touch plants of any kind. The mis- 
chievous thing is the linle slug that hides itself in the ground or 
under grass or leaves, and that comes out in the night, or in the 
rain, and eats the garden plants of almost every description more 
or less, and sometimes pretty nearly clears a field of wheat. Slugs 
cannot live under the shining sun, nor can they move about much 
except when the ground is wet or moist from dew or rain ; then 
it is that they come forth and make up for lost time. They are 
propagated amongst weeds and grass, and any thing that affords 
constant shade and tranquillity. A garden constantly clean is, 
therefore, the most effectual prevention ; but if they come, they 
must absolutely be killed, or you must give up your crop. The 
way to kill them is this : take hot lime, m a powdered state^ put 
it into a coarsish bag ; and after night-fall or before sun-rise, in 
the dew, or on the moist ground, go over their haunts, shake the 
bag and let the fine powder fall upon the ground : some little par- 
ticle will fall upon every slug that is abroad ; and every slug that 
is touched with the lime will die. If rain come it ^\ ill destroy the 
power of the lime, and then it will be necessary, perhaps, for you 
to repeat the remedy several different times. 

305. ROOK-WORM. — This is an underground enemy; a 
miner and sapper. It is a short worm or long maggot, as big 
round as a thick goose-quill, body white, and head partly red 
and partly black. It is a fact, I suppose, that the may-bug, or 
chaffer, comes from this worm. The French call it the ver hanne- 
ton, which corroborates that opinion. It attacks the roots of 
plants, and will even attack the roots of trees, and will now-and- 
then destroy some young trees. It will clear a patch of cabbages 
in a very short time. It is under-ground, and therefore not to 
be guarded against ; but a garden may very soon be ridded of it. 
First, kill every one that you meet with in digging ; next, the 
moment you see a plant begin to flag, dig it up and take up the 
worm. If the worm be on its travels, you are sure that it is gone 
towards the next adjoining plant, to the right or to the left. 
Pursue it both ways with the spade, and ten to one but you over- 
take it. A little perseverance in this way will soon clear a garden 
of the rook-worm.s ; but as to our fields, their crops would be abso- 
lutely devoured, in many cases ; or, rather, the plants would be 
destroyed, were it not for the rooks, which are amongst the most 
useful of the animals in this country ; and really it is too hard to 



224 FRUITS. [chap. 

grudge them a little of the corn when they have so largely con- 
tributed to^\ ards bringing the whole of it to perfection. 

396. BLACK GRUB.--It should be called the brown grub, for 
it is not black. In its workings, it is half way between a rook- 
worm and a caterpillar. It lies snugly under the ground near the 
roots of the plant in the day-time, and comes up at night, eats 
the plant off at the stem, or eats out its heart. This is a most 
perverse as well as a most pernicious thing ; it is not content, like 
the caterpillar, the snail, or the slug, to feed upon the leaves ; but 
it must needs bite out the heart, or just cut off the plant at the 
bottom. Lime has no power over it : nothing will keep it off : 
no means but taking it by the hand : in a garden this may be 
done, by examining a little about the ground just round the stem 
of every plant ; for as soon as it has destroyed one plant, it gets 
ready for another for the next night's work. In a garden, this 
thing may be destroyed, or kept down ; but, in a field, it is impos- 
sible, and many a field has had its crop almost totally destroyed 
by this grub. 

307. WIRE- WORM,— This is a little yellow worm, which, at 
full growth, is about an inch long ; and it is called wire-worm be- 
cause it is very tough and difficult to pinch asunder. It is bred in 
grass-land, and in old tufts of grass in arable land. A piece of 
land, digged or ploughed up from a meadow, or grass-field, will, 
for a year or two, be full of these worms, which carry off who;e 
fields of wheat sometimes. In gardens they are very destructive. 
They attack tender-rooted plants, make a hole on one side of the 
tap-root, and work their way upwards till they come to the heart. 
When they have done that, they go to another plant, and so on. 
You perceive when they are at work, by the plant dropping its 
leaves ; and the only remedy is to watch the plants narrowly, and, 
as soon as you perceive the tips of the leaves beginning to flag, to 
take it up, and destroy the worms. They are particularly fond 
of lettuces that have been transplanted ; and I have had whole 
rows of lettuces destroyed by these worms, in spite of every pre- 
caution. 

308. WOOD-LOUSE. — It is a little grey-coloured insect of 
a fiat shape, and about twice as long as it is broad. When you 
touch it, or when it sees itself in danger, it forms itself into a ball, 
and very much resembles a Dutch cheese, and is, by the children 
iu the country, called the cheese-bob. Its nanje of wood-louse 

4 



V,.] 



DlSi:A.sr.S OF ITIUIT-THEES. 



comes from its habit of living and breeding in rotten wood, and 
under boards or slabs that are lying upon the ground ; but it 
also haunts very much the cracks in bricks, and the holes in the 
joints of walls. It feeds upon buds and blossoms, and also upon 
the fruit itself. When it gets into hot-beds, it hides round the 
edge of the frame, and does a great deal of mischief to the plants, 
especially when they are young. Cabbage-leaves or lettuce-leaves 
laid in a hot-bed or against the edge of the wall, will invite them 
to take shelter as a place of retreat for the day, all the dilapida- 
tions being committed in the night. You lift the leaves in the 
day-time and kill them ; and, further, as to walls, the great 
remedy is to keep all the joints well pointed, and to fill up any 
cracks that there may be in the bricks. 

309. EAR- WIG. — This is a most pernicious insect, which 
feeds on flow^ers and on fruit, and which, if it congregated like 
the ant, would actually destroy every thing of this sort. Its 
favourite flowers are those of the carnation kind. To protect 
very curious plants against them, the florists put their stages on 
leo^s, and surround each leg with a circle of w ater contained in a 
dish which is so constructed as to admit the leg through the 
middle of it, seeing that the ear- wig is no swimmer. Others make 
little things of paper like extinguishers, and put them on the 
tops of the sticks to which the carnation-stalks are tied. The 
ear-wigs commit their depredations in the night, and they find 
these extinguishers most delightful retreats from the angry eye of 
man and from the burning rays of the sun. Take ofl" the extin- 
guishers, however, in the morning, give them a rap over a basin 
of water, and the enjoyments of the ear-wigs are put an end to at 
once. They are very nasty things in fruit of the stone kind, and 
particularly the apricot. They make a way in the foot-stalk of 
the fruit, get to the stone and live there day and night ; so that, 
when you open a fine apricot, you frequently find its fine juice 
half-poisoned by three or four of these nasty insects. As soon, 
therefore, as the wall-fruit begins to change its colour, the tree 
should be well furnished with extinguishers made of cartridge- 
paper, and able to resist a shower. By great attention in this 
way you destroy them all before the fruit be ripe enough for them 
to enter. But one great protection against all these creeping 
things is to stir the ground very frequently along the foot of 

Q 



226 



FRUITS. 



[chap. 



the wall. That is their great place of resort ; and frequent 
stirring and making the ground very fine, disturbs the peace of 
their numerous families, gives them trouble, makes them uneasy, 
and finally harasses them to death. 

310. WASPS. — These are enemies of another sort, and, in 
some years, most troublesome they are. They fix upon the finest 
fruit, and, in some seasons, long before it be ripe. They will eat 
a green-gage plum to a shell ; and, while they spoil your fruit, they 
will not scruple to sting you if you come to interrupt their enjoy- 
ment. The first thing to do is to destroy all the wasps' nests 
that you can find anywhere in the neighbourhood. These nests 
are generally in banks. Discover the nest in the day-time, 
open it with a spade at night, and pour in boiling water. There 
is a little bird, called the red-start, that destroys the wasps ; but 
boys are their great enemies ; and about sixpence a nest will keep 
any neighbourhood pretty clear of wasps. But, the great remedy 
is to kill them when they come to the tree, and that is done in 
this way : you fill a pretty large phial half full of beer mixed with 
brown sugar ; the wasps, attracted by this, go down into the phial 
and never come out again. The phials must be emptied every 
day, if anything like full, and put up again with fresh sugar and 
beer. A string is tied round the neck of the phial, w^hich is thus 
fastened round some part of the tree. There must, however, be a 
considerable number of these phials attached to every tree. 

311. FLIES. — Great flies, like the flesh-flies, feed upon all 
the softer fruits ; and even upon apples and pears. They are 
destroyed or kept down precisely in the manner directed for the 
wasps. Some persons, in order to preserve fine pears, cover them 
over with bunting, a piece of which they tie completely over each 
pear : this is a very troublesome, but a veiy effectual, method. 



v„,] 



SHRUBBERRIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The formation of Shrubberies and Flower Gardens; and the 
Propagation and Cidtivation of the several sorts of Shrubs 
and Floivers. 



312. On this part of my subject it is not agreeable to my plan 
to be very minute, except as to the several kinds of shrubs and 
flowers, the lists of which I shall make as complete as I can : it is 
not for the use of florists that I pretend to write ; but for the use 
of persons v^'ho have the means of forming pretty gardens, and 
who have a taste for making use of these means : a taste which, 
I am sorry to say, has been declining in England for a great 
many years. 



SHRUBBERIES. 

313. As to the form of shrubberies, or pleasure grounds, that 
must greatly depend upon adventitious circumstances so various 
that particular directions must be inapplicable in nine cases out 
of ten. There are some things, however, which are general to all 
situations, and, with respect to these, I shall offer my opinion. 
Shrubberries should be so planted, if they be of any considerable 
depth, as for the tallest trees to be at the back, and the lowest in 
fiont ; if one could have one^s will, one would go, by slow degrees, 
from a dwarf Kalmia to a Catalpa or a Horse-chesnut. Such a 
slope, however, would require the depth of a mile ; and, therefore, 
that is out of the question. But some attention may be paid 
anywhere to the placing in proper relative position those trees 
which are likely to combine well with one another in the most 
dreary part of the year ; so as to have cheerful colours as long as 
possilSe. For this purpose, no shrubbery should be without ever- 
greens, such as the smaller kind of firs, tree box and laurel ; and 
a little observation will in one autumn teach the planter what 

Q 2 



S 11 Ki: B B i: R 1 E S A N D F LO E R - G A R I ) i: N S . 



[Cli AB. 



colours the leaves of our deciduous trees become at that season, 
and also which are the trees that retain their leaves the longest. 
He ^vill tind that, in situations very much sheltered, some will 
carry their leaves till very late indeed, and that others, be they 
where they mav, will soon loose them. The poplars, the ash, and 
the elm, will retain their leaves well throughout the autumn if the 
situation be sheltered and the weather tolerably dry, and these die 
a very bright yellow. The oak, the beech, and the sycamore, die 
red, but the oak and beech retain their leaves longest, the latter 
of these two, indeed, when young, retains them all the winter, but 
they Ijecome brown before the spring. The lime, the birch, the 
horse-chesnut, turn a dingy brown and fall soon, but particularly 
the last, which becomes an unsightly tree early in September. If 
the shrubbery be of narrow space, the best way is to have no very 
tall shrubs at all, and to be content with an outride border of 
lilacs or laurels* The walks, to be beautiful and convenient, 
should be of gravel of a deep yellow, well-sifted and laid down in 
the substantial manner directed for the walks of the kitchen- 
garden. Such walks cannot be kept in neat order without box 
edgings ; and every thing relating to box and to edgings has been 
said in Chapter II., relative to the walks of the kitchen-garden. 

314. Gravel walks are not to be kept in neat order without 
be"'ng broken up once a year ; and that once ought to be about 
the middle of the month of May. They are broken up with a 
pick-axe, new^ly raked over, and rolled with a stone roller imme- 
diately after the mking, and not the whole walk at once ; but a 
bit at a time, so that the top be not dry when the roller comes 
upon it : for, if it be, it will not bind. So nice a matter is this, 
that, if a part be prepared for rolhng, and if the hands be called 
off to dinner before it be rolled, mats are laid on to shade it 
from the sun until their return to work. This is a matter of 
the greatest nicety : a very good eye is required in those who 
rake previous to the rolling, and the rollers must have a very 
steady hand, or there will be unevenness in the walk, which, 
when properly laid, is certainly one of the most beautiful objects 
in the world. If proper care have been taken in laying the 
foundation of the walk, few or no w^eeds will come even* on its 
edges ; but, if they should, they must be eradicated as soon as 
they appear. Some leaves will fall even in summer, and the walk 
nuist be swept with a soft broom once in the week, at least. 



VH.] SHRUBBERIES. 229 

315. But grass is another great ornament, an^, perhaps, if 
kept in neat order, the greatest of all. If grass be about to be 
laid down, the ground should be well prepared : if too poor to 
keep the grass fresh through a hot summer, it should be made 
richer, and always deeply moved. The next thing is to keep 
the ground, whether on the sides of terraces, on a slope, or on a 
level, perfectly smooth and even on the surface. To sow grass is 
not the way to have line grass plats ; but to cut the turf from a 
common or from some verv ancient and closely-pressed pasture 
where the herbage is fine. From our finest Downs, or from spots 
in our Commons, the turf is generally taken ; and, short grass, as 
the gardeners call it, is seen in perfection, I believe, nowhere but 
in England. The old Duke of Orleans, showing Sir Frederick 
Eden his gardens at Chantilly, coming to a grass-plat, said. 
Here is something that you will like, at any rate ; and then 
he told him that the turf of which the plat was form.ed 
was actually imported from England, and cut upon Epsom 
Down. The grass, cut with a turfing-iron made for the purpose, 
is rolled up, just like a piece of cloth, green-sward inwards, 
the strips are cut by a line : and cut into pieces of from tw o 
to four feet long. These are laid down in the fall of the year 
on the place where they are to grow : they are place -i and pressed 
up very closely together, being well beaten down with the back of 
the spade as the workman proceeds ; and when the whole is laid, 
a roller of iron or of stone, of sufficient weight, is passed over the 
plat. During the next winter, care must be taken to roll again 
when the ground is in a dry state, after every frost. In the month 
of April, it will be necessary to begin to mow ; for the grass will 
grow very well. Grass-plats are the greatest beauties of pleasure 
grounds if well managed ; but, unless you be resolved not to spare 
the necessary expense for this purpose ; if you think that you 
cannot have the perseverance to prevent your plat from becoming 
a sort of half meadow at certain times, the best way is not to 
attempt the thing at all. During the month of May, grass must 
be mowed once a week. From the first of June, to the middle 
of July, and especially if the weather be wet, twice a week mav 
be necessary ; or, one mowing and one swarding or poling, ar.d 
sweeping. The mower can operate only in the dew : he must be 
at his v> ork by day-light, and the grass nuist be swept up before it 
be dry. It is the ge.ieral i>iacti('e to mow every Saturday morning, 



230 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



and to pole or sward the grass in the middle of the week, to 
knock or cut off the heads of the daisies, and to take away the 
castings of the \a orms, ^Yhich are very troublesome in the greater 
part of grass-plats. Where the thing is well done, the worm- 
casts are rubbed off by a pole or rod the evening before the 
mowing is performed, otherwise they interrupt the progress of the 
scythe and take off its edge. A good short-grass mower is a 
really able-workman ; and, if the plat have a good bottom, he 
will leave it very nearly as smooth and as even as the piece of 
green cloth which covers the table on which I am w riting : it is 
quite surprising how close a scythe will go if in a hand that 
knows how to whet it and use it. If, however, you do not resolve 
to have the thing done in this manner, it is much better not to 
attempt it at all. The decay of gardening in England in this 
respect is quite surprising. 

3 16. It is very much the fashion to have clumps of shrubs, or 
independent shrubs, upon grass-plats : people must follow their 
own taste ; but, in my opinion, nothing is so beautiful as a clear 
carpet of green, surrounded with suitable shrubs and flowers, sepa- 
rated from it by walks of beautiful gravel. The hedges of grass, 
whether ogainst walks or against shrubberries, are sure to grow out, 
and ought, therefore, to be kept in by trimming or pairing off very 
frequently ; for the whole ought to be as smooth as a piece of 
cloth. If thistles or dandelions, or even daisies, come amongst 
the grass, the mowing of them off is not enough, for each wi'l 
make a circle round the crown of its root, and will overpower the 
grass. This, however, is easily cured by cutting these roots oft' 
deeply with a knife, and puiling them up. This done during two 
summers successively, will destroy the dandelions and the thistles ; 
and, as to the daisies, which have a shallow root, they may easily 
be kept down, if not extirpated. 

317. In the fall of the year, all shrubberies (in the month of 
November) should be digged completely w-ith a fork : all suckers 
should be taken away, all dead wood taken out : all leaves carried 
oft' or digged in, and better carried off than digged in ; for if 
digged in, they make the ground hollow, and harbour slugs and 
other vermin. The ground should be made smooth, therefore, 
when it is digged : ail hares and rabbits kept out, for they are very 
mischievous in shrubberies, barking during the u inter many of the 
trees of the most valuable kind. Uui ing the summer, there should 



vu.] 



SHRUBBERIES. 



231 



be two or three hoeiiigs to prevent weeds from growing, and a 
nice raking once a week to take up any leaves that may have 
fallen ; for no trees or flowers will be seen to advantage unless 
they stand upon a spot that is in neat order. Shrubs should not 
be too much crowded, by any means ; it cramps them in their 
growth, makes their shoots feeble, makes their bloom imperfect, 
and they hide one another : a shrubbery should not be a mass of 
indistinguishable parts : but an assemblage of objects each clearly 
distinguished from the other. The distribution should be such 
as to ensure bloom in every season that bloom can be had ; and, 
through shade is in some cases desirable, flowering shrubs to be 
beautiful must not be shaded, except in instances so l^ew as not to 
warrant the supposition that there is ever to be a departure from 
the general rule. 

318. If there be water, every eye tells you that it ought to be 
bordered by grass ; or, if of larger dimensions, by trees the 
boughs of which touch its very edge : bare ground and water do 
not suit at all. It was formerly the fashion to have a sort of canal 
with broad grass-walks on the sides, and with the water coming 
up to within a few inches of the closely-shaven grass ; and 
certainly few things were more beautiful than these. Sir 
William Temple had one of his own constructing in his gar i en, 
at Moor Park. On the outsides of the grass-walks were borders 
of beautiful flowers. I have stood for hours to look at this canal 
for the good-natured manners of those days had led the proprietor 
to make an opening in the outer wall in order that his neighbouis 
might enjoy the sight as well as himself ; I have stood for hours, 
when a little boy, looking at this object ; I have travelled far 
since, and have seen a great deal ; but I have never seen anything 
of the gardening kind so beautiful in the whole course of my life. 

319. The present taste is on the side of irregularity : straiglt 
walks, straight pieces of water, straight rows of trees, seem all to 
be out of fashion; but, it is also true that neatness, that real'y 
flne shrubberies and flower-gardens, have gone out of fashion at 
the same time. People, however, must follow their own tastes n 
these respects ; and it is useless to recommend this or that manner 
of laying out a piece of ground. I proceed, therefore, to speak 
of the propagation and management of shrubs, in the first place ; 
and shall then give a list of the several shrubs, mentioning under 
each name any thing worthy of particular attention. 



232 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[C HAP. 



SHRUBS. 

320. Shrubs are propagated in jast the same way that fruit- 
trees are, by cuttings, by slips, by layers, by grafting and budding 
in some instances, and, in every instance, they may be propagated 
by seed, and that, too, without the same inconvenience that occurs 
in the case of fruit-trees ; because 1 know no instance of a shrub 
the seed of which will not bear a flower like that of the parent 
tree, though I am not sure that this is the case in every instance. 
As often as they can be raised from seed, that is the best, though 
in some instances the slowest way. Cuttings and layers, and the 
other methods of grafting and budding, do not produce a plant so 
vigorous and so healthy as if raised from seed ; and, though a 
great number of shrubs are propagated from suckers, these suckers 
have all the disadvantages which were mentioned when speaking 
of the propagation of fruit-trees. They send out suckers again, 
and, in a few years, if left alone, fill the whole ground with them. 
This is very conspicuous in the case of the lilac, which is always 
raised from suckers, but which may easily be raised from seed. I 
now proceed to give a list of the shrubs in alphabetical order, 
with a short description attached to each. 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 

52 1 . AC ACIA, the ROSE.— Latin, Rohinia Hispida. A shi ub 
from North America, where it grows to fifteen or tw enty feet high ; 
and, in June, and sometimes again in July and August, blows a rose- 
coloured pea-blossom flower hanging like bunches of grapes. The 
leaves are larger and more rounded than those of the common aca- 
cia, or locust, but otherwise are just like them. The branches are co- 
vered with little prickles, when of the first and second year : after- 
wards these fall ofl", but this quality has given the species its name 
of hispida, which means hairy. It is not altogether elegant in its 
form, but the beauty of its young blanches, its luxuriant leaves, 
and, above all, its delicate and abundant flowers, make it one of 
the most desirable and esteemed shrubs either for the shrubbery, 
border, or parterre ; and the facility of procuring and cultivating 



VII.] LIST OF SHRUBS. !2.";3 

it is an additional reconiraendation. Graft on the common acacia, 
in jnst the same manner that you graft apples or pears (see par. 210. 
for tongLie-graiting), and, if you make any difference at all, graft 
nearer to the ground than is there recommended ; and draw the 
earth up with a hoe about the clay that you wrap round the 
grafted plant, and this will keep up a moistness that renders the 
operation more surely successful. The plants will flower the first 
year, but, unless they are in a very sheltered situation, they should 
have stakes driven in alongside of them, and should be tied to 
these, for they are exceedingly brittle, and would be bloM^n to 
pieces by one high wind, without this precaution. The flowers 
come on the same year's wood, therefore keep your plants short- 
ened every year, if you wish them to flower low down ; but, if 
you have them on lawns, or buried at all in the shrubbery, let 
them have their way, only now-and-then cutting out dead wood 
or broken limbs. It is perfectly hardy, and any soil almost suits 
it, though, like most other things, it flourishes most in the finest 
soil. — The Smooth-tree Acacia. — Lat. Mimosa Julihrissin, is 
a green-house shrub. It is not ranked by the botanists with the 
preceding plant, but I put them together as acacias, meaning to 
have done with that genus of plants when I have finished this 
paragraph. This plant is a native of the Levant, where it be- 
comes a tree of thirty feet high, blows a rose-coloured flower in 
August. It is propagated either by sowing the seeds, or by laying ; 
and, in cultivation, it requires a fresh and rather light mould ; 
and, if put in the open ground, should be very carefully protected 
from frosts and cold winds. — Sponge-tree Acacia. — Lat. Mi- 
mosa farnesiana, is also a green-house plant, but is rather less 
hardy than the preceding. It comes from Saint Domingo, where it 
grows to about fifteen feet high. Its wood is white and hard, and 
its branches thorny ; its leaves are small, and shut up at the 
decline of the sun, as do those of several of the acacias, and in 
August it blows a small head of yellow and sweet-scented flowers. 
Propagated in the same mauijer as the last. — Pseudo- Acacia, 
see Locust. 

322. AIjI^^IO^ D ,comnwndiva7]f. Lat. Atni/gdalns nana. A hardy 
tree, originally from Russia, growing about three feet high, and 
blowing a pink flower in March and April. Propagated by sow- 
ing in a nursery, or where they are to stay ; but the best sorts 
are obtained by grafting either on the common almond, or on 



234 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



the plum tree. Silver-leaved Almond. — Lat. A. argenteciy 

is a taller sort, from the Levant, growing eight or ten feet 
high, blowing rose-coloured flowers in April, and having leaves 
covered on both sides with a kind of down, of a silver colour. — 
Double Dwarf Almond. — Lat. A. pumila, is a third sort, a 
smaller tree than the last, but with remarkable double flow^ers of 
a pale rose colour, appearing in May and often again in Sep- 
tember. All these trees are cultivated in the same simple man- 
ner. They are hardy, and very handsome when in flower, though 
there not bearing leaves and flowers at the same time is a re- 
markable illustration of how much flowers borrow effect from 
foliage. Propagate by grafting on the bitter almond, or on plum- 
stocks, and give any situation and almost any soil. Cut out dead 
wood when it occurs, and that will be all the pruning necessary 
to these plants. 

323. ALL-SPICE, Carolina. — Lat. Calycanthus Floridus. A 
hardy and exceedingly odoriferous shrub of Carolina, eight feet 

high, and blows a ruddy brown flower from May to August. 

Fruitful Calycanthus. — Lat. C. fertilis. A hardy shrub of 
North America, three or four feet high, and blows a reddish brown 
flower from May to August. Both sorts propagated by layers ; 
but, as they take root ith difficulty, it is best not to remove them 
until the third year. It Ukes a deep and fresh soil, or, still better, 
heath-mould ; and should not be quite exposed to the sun. If 
propagated from seed, it should have artificial heat to bring it up, 
otherwise it lies two years in the ground. 

324. ALTHEA FRUTEX.— Lat. Hibiscus Syriacus. A beau- 
ful shrub. A native of Syria, the Levant, and North America, 
and of which there are four varieties, the red, the piirple, the 
white, and the striped. It is a hardy late plant, coming into 
leaf late in June, and blowing throughout August and September, 
The flower comes on the young wood as well as on the present 
year's wood ; and its form is very much that of the holyhock. It 
grows to eight ot ten feet high generally, in America, and will 
grow quite as high here. Indeed, there is one now* before the 
door of the farm-house at the Duke of Devonshire's estate at 
Chiswick that is full twelve feet high, and that blows regularly 
every year. It ripens its seed here in an ordinarily good summer, 
and, though generally propagated from cuttings or layers, is far 
finer when propagated Ironi the seed, which comes up the first 



vn.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



235 



year, and will do well even when sown in the open ground. The 
young plants make a late shoot in the fall of the year, which, if 
frosts come early, will be pinched by them, but you can cut down 
below this in the next spring, and your plant is but the finer for 
it. It is not very difficult to please as to soil. 

325. ANDROMEDA, the Marsh.— \jaX. Andromeda poly- 
folia, A heath about one foot high, w hich blows a rose-coloured 
flower in May. It grows well in any soil, but prefers shade, and 
earth which is light, nourishing, and easy to penetrate. Propagated 
either by suckers or by dividing the roots, and does very well after 
transplanting, for which February or March is a better time than 
the autumn. When raised from seeds, sow in pots under glass ; 
use a peat soil and cover the seeds very lightly over ; and put 
them in fresh pots when they are an inch or two high, placing 
them at such distances from each other as shall suffer them to 
grow strong. 

326. ANTHYLLIS the silvery, or Jupiter s heard.— L^ii. An- 
thyllis harha Jovis. A shrub of Provence and the island of Cor- 
sica, which grows four or five feet high, and blows a pale yellow 
flower in April and May. Propagated by layers, cuttings, suck- 
ers, or seed sowed under a frame. Likes rich earth, and is a 
green-house plant. 

327. APPLE, the double-flowered.— See Pyrus. 

328. ARBUTUS, or Strawherry-tree. — Lat. A.unedo.A large 
evergreen shrub, and a native of Ireland, which blows in Sep- 
tember and October. The flower is of a yellowish white, or 
red. It bears a fruit very much resembling the strawberry. Pro- 
pagated by layers made in February, or the beginning of March ; 
also by seed sown, immediately after it is ripe, in pots of lightish 
earth, which should be exposed to the south-east till the seed 
comes up. When the p ants are four or five inches high, they are 
planted in small pots, and put into a house during the winter till 
they are strong enough to put in the open earth. It is peculiarly 
suited to lawns and shrubberies, where it makes a good show, 
and grows to the height of ten or fifteen feet. Andrachne Ar- 
butus is another species, from the Levant. It has larger flowers 
of a deep red, but it is not so hardy, and, if planted in the open 
ground, must be secured against frosts. 

329. AZALEA, the ichite-floicered. — Lat. A. viscosa. A pretty 
and hardy shrub from North America, about three feet high, and 



236 



SIIIIUEBEKIES AND FLOWER-G AR PENS. 



[cfiAr 



blowing a -svhite flower in June and July. Red-flowered. — 

Lat. A. nudiflora^ is a hardy shrub, also from North America, 
about three feet high, and blows in May and June. Yellow- 
flowered. — Lat. A. pontica. A hardy shrub, found near the Black 
Sea. It is about three feet high, and blows in May. Propa- 
gated by layers or by suckers, which should not be moved until 
they have taken root well. They like black heatli mould : but do 
well in any garden soil. These are all very ornamental shrubs ; 
they have none of them much leaf, but the white has the most. 
The flower comes at the ends of the branches, and resembles, in 
form, that of the common honey-suckle. Cut out dead wood, 
and that is all the pruning you need do. 

330. BXRB^'RRY.—l^2it.Berlieris vulgaris. A thorny, indi- 
genous shrub, which bears a great abundance of small oblong 
red berries, and it is for these, either for pickling, or as an orna- 
ment, that the tree is planted in our gardens and shrubberies. It 
neverthel'ess serves to make good hedges, and requires no pruning, 
and is contented with any soil. Propagated by sowing the seeds, 
or by layers (which ought to remain two seasons before they are 
cut oft' from the mother plant) or by suckers. There is another 
sort, the Chinese, Lat. Sinensis. 

331. BLADDER-SEXXA.— Lat. Colutea Arhorescens. A 
shrub of the south of France, Italy, and the Levant, which grows 
ten or twelve feet high. It blows a yellow flower during the 
^vhole summer, and bears the flower and the fruit at the same 
tune. Propagated by layers, or by sowing the seed in rich and 
rather shady borders, or in an old -hot-bed, ^^here they must stay 
t:ll the following spring, when they may be put in a nursery till 
the autumn, or planted, at once, where they are meant to stay. 

Likes chalky soil.- Bladder-Senna Oriental. — Lat. C. ori- 

entalis. A hardy slirub from the Levant, about six feet high, blows 

a vellowish red flower in June and July. Bladder Senna, 

scarlet-flowered . — Lat. C. frutescens. A hardy shrub, originally 
from Africa, about four feet high, and blows in July. These two 
latter are propagated in the same way as the tirst, and are equally 
hardy, and like the same soil. 

332. BLADDER-XUT, /re-/eaiT6?.-Lat. Staphylea pinnata. 
A hardy shrub, common in England, about flfteen or twenty feet 

high, and blows a white flower in April, May, and June. Blad- 

DER-XiT, three-lcared.—h-d{. S. frifolia. A hardy shrub from 



Vll.] LIST or SlIKLBS. 1^.07 

VirgiPiia, not so high as the piecediiig one, and blows a white 
flower ill May and June. Propagated by suckers planteLi in the 
autumn. Any soil or situation suits these. 

333. BKAyiBlu^, flowering. — I^^lX. JRuhus odoratus. A hardy 
shrub, originally from Canada, five or six feet high, and blows, in 
June and August, a pinkish violet-coloured flower. Propagated 
by suckers. It likes a moist, shaded situation. This plant is also 
called the flowering Raspberry . 

334. BPtEAD-TREE^— Lat. Melia Azedarach. A green-house 
shrub, of Asia, which grows ten or twelve feet high, and blows 
a white flower tinted with purple, in July. Propagated by 
sowing the seed, as soon as ripe, in the open earth ; but, in a 
place sheltered from the frost. Orange-tree earth suits it best. 

335. BROOM.— See Genista. s 

336. BUCK-THORN, thecommon. — Lat. Wiamnus Alaternus . 
A hardy shrub from the south of Europe, eight or ten feet high. 
Blows a greenish yellow flower in April and May, and bears a red 
berry. Propagated by seed, grafts, and layers. Not particular 
as to soil, but should be in a sheltered situation. There are two 
varieties of this plant, the common, and the jagged-leaved, and 
they are very fit for shrubberies. 

337. BOX-TREE. — Lat. Buxus sempervirens. There are two 
varieties common to us, the Tree and the Dwarf Box : the 
former will grow in some places as high as twenty feet ; blow in 
April a little pale yellow flower. Propagate by slips, cuttings, 
layers, which root quickly. The dwarf is excellent as an edging, 
and the tree excePent in evergreen shrubberies, where it will bear 
being planted in the shade or under the drip of higher trees. 

338. CxlNDLE-BERRY MYRTLE.— Lat. 3Iyricagale. A 
hardy shrub, common in the forest of Rambouillet, in France, 
four feet in height, and has a small red blossom, which appears 
in May and June. Propagated by sowing, or by dividing the 
roots. Heath mould suits it best. — Candle-bekry Myrtle, 
common American. — Lat. AT. cerifera. A hardy shrub of North 
America, four or live feet high, and blows in May. The fruit is 
small, and covered with a white dust. Propagated by suckers, 
or by seed sowed in pots. 

339. CAPER BUSH. — Lat. Capparis spinosa. A climber, ori- 
ginally of Provence and the environs of De Grasse and Toulon. 
It grows three or four feet high, and blows white flowers in abund- 



238 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[ri-iAr. 



oilce ill ]May a:id June. Propagated by seed or by layers, but, as 
it is tender, the sure way to make layers is to cover the stump 
with earth, and then the shoots which come immediately from it 
take root easily. It is a proper green-house plant. 

340. CAMELLIA. — Lat. C. Japonica. A veiy beautiful ever- 
green green-house shrub, which blows in February and March, 
flowers double, semi-double, and single ; and there are the red^ 
red-and-white, pure white, and the blush, with various others that 
have been procured by art. This plant, though strictly speaking 
a green-house plant, may be brought to grow and blow in the 
open ground, if planted under a southern wall, and sheltered in 
the winter by mats or other covering. It likes a good rich soil, 
though it is the practice of the great tlorists to grow it in a mix- 
ture of peat and good garden mould, to ^'\ hich some add a small 
proportion of sand. It is not difficult of propagation either by 
cuttings, layers, or by grafting : if by cuttings, take off, in Au- 
gust, ripened shoots of the preceding year's growth, to which you 
will let there be three buds. Plant a dozen or so in a pot of six 
or eight inches' diameter filled with sand or sandy loam. Keep 
the pot under a frame or a hand-glass without bottom heat, and 
shade it from a powerful sun. In the spring, you will find them 
pushing forth ; at least, all such as have struck. Give them %\"ater 
plentifully when they are in a growing state, and sprinkle their 
leaves also ; and, in the fall, they will be fit to pot ofi", when you 
should plant them singly in good-sized pots well drained by plac- 
ing potsherds at the bottom. By layers, proceed as is recom- 
mended in Chap. VI., and graft in the manner recommended in 
that Chapter also, only it is usual to omit cutting a tongue in the 
stock and the scion as there recommended, because it is supposed 
to weaken both more than they can bear : but the greater atten- 
tion is requisite in the tying, so that the barks of the stock and 
the scion may not, in the operation of tying, be removed from the 
point where you have placed them. I ^^ill oiilv repeat that, 
when growing, and when in flower, this plant requires to be plen- 
tifully watered; and that the broiling mid-day sun of summer it 
never likes. 

341 . CATALPA. — Lat. Bignonia Catalpa. This is a shrub or 
tree rising to the height of thirty or forty feet : and it is sufliciently 
hardy for almost any part of the south of England. Its flowers, 
^^hich come like those of the horse chesnut, but not until August, 



VU.J 



LIST OF SHRTES. 



239 



are far more beautiful, and they are pendulous instead of being 
erect. In every thing else, this tree is the reverse of the horse- 
chesnut. Its leaf is very large, of a singularly bright green, which 
it preserves wholly unfaded through the hottest summers, and 
until the coming of the frost. Catalpas should not be planted in 
the shade. In very cold and wet summers they do not blow in 
England ; they blow, however, five times, perhaps, out of six ; and, 
if they never blowed at all, they ought to be cultivated for the 
beauty of the leaf. It is a tree of great durability, as well in tree 
as in timber. They may be raised from layers ; but which much 
less trouble from seeds, which can, at all times, easily be had from 
America, which come up the first year, and the plant attains a 
considerable height even during the first summer. 

342. CEDAR.— See Juniper. 

343. CHERRY, the BIRD.— Lat. Prunvs Padus. A very 
handsome -shrub, growing to the height of six or eight feet, and 
blowing in May abundance of white flowers ; these become fruit, 
some red and some black. It is a native of England, and is pro- 
pagated either by seeds, suckers, or grafting on the common 

cherry ; and it is not nice as to soil. Double-flowering 

Cherry. — Lat. Cerasiis flore pleno^ is another species of cherry. 
It produces a beautiful double flower in April, not so abundant as 
that of the former kind, but much handsomer ; and the plant is 
not so tall. Propagation and cultivation the same. — Dwarf 
American Cherry. — Lat. Prunus pumila. From North America. 
A dwarf shrub, not more than three or four feet high, blowing 
small white flowers in April and May upon remarkably slender 
branches. Propagate in the same manner as for the ts\o last ; 
and give any soil or situation. These, according to their respective 
sizes, are very desirable in the shrubbery and on the lawn, and 
they are so handsome and so easy of cultivation that no excuse 
can well be found for not having them. 

344. CISTUS, or BOCK-ROSE, the laurel-leaved.— L^it. C. 
laurifolius. A hardy shrub from the south of France and from 
Spain, about six feet high, and blows a large white flower in 

June and July. Gum Cistus. — Lat. C. Ladaniferus. A 

hardy and very beautiful shrub, about six or eight feet high, and 
blows in June and July a beautiful large white flower, with violet 
spots in the inside. Propagated by cuttings taken in the summer, 
which take root in about six weeks, if well-ripened young wood be 



240 



SHRLUBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[CHAI^ 



chosen for the purpose, and put under a hand-glass, and not 

crowded together too much. -Cistus, the white-leaved. — Lat. 

C. Albinus. A shrub of the south of Europe : is three or four 
feet high, and blows a purplish flower in June and July. It will 
sometimes live in the open ground, but it is best to keep some plants 
in a house. Propagated by sowing the seed in April, in pots in a 
hot-bed ; and when the young plants have five or six leaves, they 
must be planted, separately, in very small pots, and put in the 
shade, or in a shaded bed, to strike. Also propagated by cuttings 
put under a common hand-glass in summer. This faniily of 
plants, all of which are beautiful, has been divided by the bota- 
nists, a numerous class now going by the name of Helianthemum. 
All of them great blowers and extremely handsome. They do 
well in pots, and also on rock-work : in short, nothing is hand- 
somer than a selection of these shrubs. 

345. CLEMATIS, or VIRGIN'S BOWER.— Lat. Clematis 
viticella, A hardy plant, common enough in gardens : it is a 
climber, and is suited to bowers and trellis-work, or for other 
conspicuous places. Blows a bluish purple flower in July and 
August, and is easily propagated by layers, or from the seed, which 
ripens in abundance, or by parting roots. Any soil will suit it. 
See also Hungarian climber. 

346. COBEA, climbing. — Lat. Cobcea Scandens. A green- 
house climber, originally from Mexico. Its branches will grow 
thirty or forty yards in length, and it blows, in August and Sep- 
tember, a large and exceedingly handsome flower^, which is at first 
of a pale yellow, but aftferwards violet. It is, although a green- 
house plant, as hardy as the passion flower, and, like that plant, 
will run over a great extent of wall in one summer, blowing 
abundance of its magnificent flowers, and ripening seeds in a pod 
of the size of a walnut ; then, if not very well protected from frost, 
it will die down. But it is so easily procured either from seeds, 
or cuttings, that no one need be long at a loss, if his plant even 
perish during the winter. In green-houses of small extent, it 
almost prevents your having anything else, so much room will it 
occupy in a short time ; therefore it is generally seen in the larger 
conservatories, where it makes a great show for two months. 

347. CORIARIA, or MYRTLE-LEAVED SUMACH.— 
Lat. C. Myrtifolia. A hardy shrub from the south of Europe, that 
blows in April. Propagated by suckers, and also by seed. 



vu.] 



h]ST OF SHRUBS. 



241 



348. CURRANT (the golden).— Lat. Bihes aureum. A little 
shrub, very much resembling the black-currant in wood and in 
leaf, but blowing in April a handsome bunch of rich red flowers, 
which hang down in the form of a bunch of red currants. Quite 
hardy, and increased by layers or cuttings. 

349. CYPRESS-TREE.— Lat. Cupressus Sempervirens.—A 
hardy shrub from the Levant ; grows fifteen or twenty feet high, and 
blows a yellow blossom in May. The wood is hard, and of a red 
colour, with a very sweet scent. 

350. CYTISUS, or LABURNUM.— Lat. C. Laburnum, A 
hardy and handsome tree, originally from the Alps, twenty or thirty 

feet high, and blows a yellow flower in May and June. 

Cytisus, common. — Lat. C. Sessilifolius. A hardy shrub of 
Provence, twelve feet high, blows a yellow flower in May and 

June. Hairy Cytisus. — Lat. C. hirsutus. A hardy shrub 

of the southern parts of Europe, smaller than the common 
cytisus, and blows a yellow flower in June. All the three sorts 
propagated by sowing the seeds in pots or in flower-beds, where 
they must remain until the following spring, when they must be 
put in a nursery. They grow well almost everyw^here, producing 
amazing quantities of blossom and of seed. They require no 
particular management, and are proper for the inner parts of 
shrubberies. As they produce their flowers from spurs, which come 
all along the old wood, prune no more than is necessary to neigh- 
bouring trees or other things, and cut out dead wood. 

351. DAPHNE {Cneorum). — A handsome little evergreen from 
Switzerland. Blows a pretty bunch of small purple flowers in 
April and May. Is hardy, and propagated by grafting ; but it is 
not fit for much but the fronts of borders, or for rock-work. 

352. DOGWOOD, or CORNELIAN CHERRY.— Lat. Cor- 
nus Mascula. A hardy shrub from Austria, fifteen or twenty feet 
high, and blows a yellow flow^er in February. Propagated by 

suckers, which are taken and planted early in the autumn. 

Dogwood, American. — Lat. C. Florida. An equally hardy 
plant from North America, but it there sometimes rises to the 
height of forty or fifty feet. Grows at the edges of woods, and 
blows large white and pink flowers at the ends of its branches in 
May and June. Propagated from seeds ; and but little known 
in England. 

353. DIERVILLA.— See Honeysuckle. 



SHRUBBERIES AND F LU\V ER-G A RD E> S . 



354. DIOTIS SHRUBBY.— Lat. D, candidmima. A hardy 
shrub from Siberia, eight or uine inches high, and h\o\\ s a yellow 
flower in August. Propagated by layers, and cuttings will do 
under a hand-giass. Likes a stony soil. 

ODD. TOST Ay E^lA.phiUurea-leaved.—L^t.Frphilbjreo'ides- 
A hardy shrub from Syria, ten or twelve feet high, and blows a 
white flower in May. Good to put against walls, for the purpose 
of hiding them. Propagated by suckers, cuttings, and also by 
seed. Does well iu almost any soil, if it be not too moist. 

356. FUCHSIA. — Lat. F. coccinea. A pretty tender shrub, a 
native of Chili, where it grows to the height of three or four 
feet. Its young branches are delicate, and of a deep scarlet 
colour, as are the tips of its leaves ; and, throughout the summer 
months, it blows numerous little pendant flowers, the upper part 
scarlet, and, to\^ards the lower, becoming a bluish violet. The 
young shoots strike freely under a hand-glass, \\hich should fre- 
quently be tilted up a little to give air. A mixture of good loam 
and peat suits them v,ell. The green-house is the proper place 
for this plant, though in the summer it will do well turned out 
into the open ground, and will even live through a moderate 
winter in England, if cut down and carefully covered with litter ; 
but it is generally potted in the beginning of October, and then, 
having taken root, is placed in its winter quarters. 

357. FURZE. — Lat. Ule:c. The double furze is a ver\- hand- 
some shrub, sweet-smelhng, an abundant flowerer and evergreen. 
It should be had in every shrubberv, and it does not disgrace a 
border even. Flowers in ]\Iav. Propagated bv soudng. 

358. GENISTA, or BROOM.— Lat Genista tmctoria. The 
common yellow broom every one knows : and the eflect of it in a 
shrubber}^ need scarcely be described. There is a white sort. 
Genista alha, which is very handsome. These blow in May : and 
are propagated without any difficulty from the seed. Sow them 
in rows not far apart, in the spring, and keep them cleanly weeded 
when they are small. The white sort is remarkably handsome 
for a full month in the spring of the year, and should, by all 
means, form a part of the shrubbery, though it is rather too tali to 
be immediately in the front row. 

359. GERANIUM.— Lat. Geranium, The botanists have 
found geraniums in almost all countries, some herbaceous, some 
woody, some fibrous-rooted, and some tuberous-rooted ; but I shall 



V,,.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



248 



leave all the rest unmentioned, that I may have the more room lo 
speak of the two or three sorts that I deem the most ornamental, 
and, in every way, the best deserving mention in this work. The 
English florists have become celebrated for their collections of a 
vast variety of green-house geraniums, which equal, or surpass, in 
number, that of the auricula, and which certainly does include a 
set of flowers of unrivalled beauty. The plant is, among English 
florists, what the tulip and hyacinth are with the Dutch florists : 
they spare no expense in erecting propagation-houses and con- 
servatories for it, they have shows of it, they give a high-sounding 
name to every new variety, and whole works have been published 
laudatory of its beauties. The common scarlet and the ivy-leaved 
are the only two sorts that I shall particularize. The first is well 
known in most gardens. It is a w^oody plant, though its wood is 
of a succulent nature, and is not a match for our winters in the 
open air ; it grows to the height of four feet or more in good 
ground in England, and much higher at the Cape of Good Hope or 
in the south of Africa, where it is indigenous. It has large dowiiy 
soft leaves of a beautiful luxuriant green, placed at the end of 
foot-stalks, and it bears its flowers in scarlet bouquets, or bunches, 
at the end of foot-stalks longer than those of the leaves. It will 
spread to a great width when planted out, and in a good warm 
summer. I have had it at Kensington full five feet over, and 
covered with blossoms from the middle of June to the middle of 
October. It is said to like a light rich mould best. Rich mould 
it does like, but I never found it do otherwise than well in the 
deepest and stifi^est garden mould that I have occupied, and I have 
occupied some of the stiffest that I ever saw^ in my life. In its 
native country it likes sand, because it has nothing else ; but I look 
upon it that a geranium in African sand under an English suuy 
would become a very poor thing indeed. Gravel suits it ill, as do 
also the extremes of chalk or clay, but a good depth of mould over 
a bed of either of these latter, w ith well rotted manure and 
good tillage, will make a very fine geranium, and will keep 
it in blossom four months of the year. As it is infallibly 
killed by hard frost, unless most cautiously covered over with 
litter and mats, the way to perpetuate it that I generally fol- 
low is this : in July take some cuttings of young wood that is 
ripening, and put them in separate pots of nice mould, obsemng 
to have two joints below the earth and one above it. Then 



244 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



plunge the pots up to their rims in a hot-bed of moderate heat. 
Shade them with mats, but do not give air for a day or two, and 
then give a little water and air, but let the water have stood in the 
watering-pot exposed to the sun for three or four hours before you 
give it. When you find they have struck and are growing well, 
re-pot them and place them in the open air, but in a shady situ- 
ation, with hoops over them that you may lay mats on. Put some 
siftings of cinders on the ground before you place the pots on it, 
and this will keep out worms. In this' place, let them recover the 
re-potting, which they will soon do, and then they are nice, fresh, 
and convenient-sized plants for the green-house, where they will 
blow in the wdnter, and in the foiiowing May w ill be your supply 
for the open ground. Another way of propagating is by seed, of 
which you may generally gather abundance in July, and, if sowed 
directly in good earth and in large pots plunged in a hot-bed, will 
come up directly, and, being potted out singly, in three weeks from 
the time of coming out, and again carefully managed (though not 
forced), will be fine strong plants by the end of autumn, and 
handsomer in form than those raised from cuttings. Put them 
into the green-house in September, or earlier if the w^eather be 
cold, and observe that you cannot give too much air, nor keep the 
place too free from damp ; want of air and dampness being the 
two main destroyers of these plants. If their leaves turn yellow- 
be sure that there is not air enough ; and, if their joints become 
mouldy, look to dampness as the cause. Prune off dead branches, 
and always keep the plant bushy, for otherwise it becomes a 

long horny thing, with a small head and few flowers. The 

ivy-leaved geranium is a pretty little trailing plant, with thin 
branches of a brownish green hue, and little smooth rather fleshy 
leaves of a dark green with a broad rim of black near the outside 
edge, and of the shape of an ivy-leaf. It blows clusters of 
pinkish flowers throughout the summer months ; is tender, but 
does well in the green-house, or in any parlour window of good 
aspect. Propagate it by cuttings as you do the last-mentioned ; 
and train it up a little ladder, getting wider and wider as it gets 
high ; prune only dead branches. A mixture of vegetable manure 
and good mould suits it well. 

360. GORDONIA.— Lat. Gordonia Puhescens. To which 
Bertram, the discoverer of it, gave the name of FranMinla. 
This is a native of the southern States of America. Its flowers 



VII.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



24o 



are magnificent, and it grows to a height of from ten to twenty 
feet. It is deciduous ; and the seeds of it must be had from 
America ; for though it would blow here very well, it w ould not 
ripen its seed. It has long stood the climate of Pennsylvania, 
where the winters are much more severe than they are in 
England. 

361. GEORGIA BARK.— Lat. Pinkneya Piibens. This is a 
singularly beautiful shrub, both as to leaf and flower ; grows to the 
height of twenty feet ; but must be tender, because it appears to 
be confined to the southern States of America. It was discovered 
by M. MiCHAUx in 1791, who gave it the name of Pinkneya, in 
honour of Mr.PiNKNEy, who had been ambassador to France. 

362. GUELDER-ROSE. — Lat. Viburnum opulus. A shrub 
common in most parts of Europe, is ten or twelve feet high, a .d 
blows a large round white flower like a ball of snow, in May and 
June. Propagated by seed, but most frequently by layers or suckers. 
Not at all particular as to soil. 

363. HARE'S-EAR, shrubhy. — Lat. Bupleurum fruticosum. 
A rather tender evergreen shrub of Provence, and other parts of 
the south of France. It grows to the height of five or six feet, 
and blows a yellow flower in July or August. It is very pretty, 
and suited to winter shrubberies ; but requires to be placed so 
that it may not push out too much in the summer. Propagated 
by sowing the seeds in light earth as soon as they are ripe, or by 
cuttings under a hand-glass. 

364. HELIANTHEMUM.— See Cistus. 

365. HONEY-SUCKLE. — Lat. Lonicera caprifolia. A 
trailing shrub of England, France, and other parts of Europe, which 
grows against walls or trees, and blows a reddish flower from the 
end of the spring to the middle of summer. Any soil suits it, but 
it does best exposed to the sun. Propagated by layers made at 
any time of the year, or by cuttings put in in the spring and autumn. 

Honey-suckle, Red-berried. — Lat. L. olpigena, A 

cUmbing shiub, three or four feet high, from Switzerland. Blows 

a red flower in May. Honey-suckle, the Pyrenean. — Lat. 

Z. Pyrenaica. A ciimbing shrub of the Pyrenees, three or four 
feet high, and blows, in May, a flower that is red on one side. 

Honey-suckle, the trumpet. — Lut. L. sempcrvirens. A 

chnibing evergreen shrub Irom North America. Blows from 
May tili August, a flower which is red on the outside, and 



246 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



jellow in the inside. Propagated by layers and cuttings. Ai.y soil 
suits it. — Honey-suckle, the Tartarian. — Lat. L. Tartarica. 
A shrub, originally from Russia and Tartary, which grows to 
the height of five or six feet, and blows in March and April. 
As the seeds are one or two years in coming up, it is best 
to propagate this plant by layers, which may be planted where 
they are to stay, at the end of eighteen months. They do not 
like the spring frosts, but hard winters do not hurt them. Any 
soil suits them, but it is advisable to put them in a good situation 
and in a warm soil. — Honey-suckle, Yellow-flowered. — Lat. 
Diervilla lutea. A hardy shrub from North America, two or 
three feet high, and blows a yellow flower in June. Propagated 
by suckers. Any soil or situation agrees with it. 

366. HAWTHORN, White.— L?it. Mespilus Oxyacantha, A 
shrub common in many parts of Europe, which blows a white 
flower in May ; but enough of it has been said in paragraph 32. 
But, besides being a most useful plant for the purpose of 
making hedges, it is also exceedingly ornamental, having foliage, 
flower, and fragrance, to delight our senses early in the month 
of May. Propagated from the seeds, which ripen plentifully. 
Gather them in the fall ; keep them all the winter in sand, and 
sow in the sprmg ; and in two years your plants will be fit to go 
out. There are also the Glastonbury thorn and the Cashiohury 
thorn, two excee -singly handsome flowering trees, for they be- 
come trees, in fact, where they are suflered to grow their full size. 

367. HUNGARIAN CLIMBER.— Lat. Clematis int egr if olia. 
Blows abundance of blue flowers from June to August, and may 
easily be made a standard shrub by being tied up to a stake of 
the height that you wish it to grow. Hardy and very handsome. 
Propagate by cuttings or layers. 

368. INDIGO, shruhhy bastard. — Lat. Amorpha fruticosa. A 
rather hardy shrub of Carolina, ten feet high, and blows a 
violet coloured flower in June and July. Propagated from seed 
and from cuttings. Any soil will do for it, but it prefers a light 
and gravelly soil, and a warm situation. In severe winters it 
requires sheltering. 

369. IVY. — Lat. Hedera helix. A hardy climber, common in 
Europe ; blows a whitish flower in September and October, and 
is useful to cover old walls. — H. Canatiensisy or Irish-ivy, is the 
best sort : both are easily propagated by layers or cuttings. 



VII.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



247 



370. JASMIN, common white. — Lat. Jasminum officinale. A 
shrub of the coast of Malabar, which grows ten or twelve feet high, 
and blows a sweet-scented white flower from July to October. 
Propagated by suckers. Any soil suits it, but it likes a light and 
warm one best. It is generally trained against walls or trellis- 
work, and will there grow to a great height.-— — Jasmin, yellow 
Italian. — Lat. J. humile. A shrub which grows four or five feet 
high, and blows a yellow flower from July to September. Culti- 
vated like the white jasmin. 

371. JUNIPER-TREE, or red cedar— Lat. Juniperus Vir- 
giniana. An evergreen tree from North America that blows in May, 
and produces a little blue berry. It grows to forty or fifty feet high, 

and delights in peat soil ; but is not very nice as to that. 

Phcenician Cedar. — Lat. J. Phcenicea. An evergreen shrub 
from the south of Europe, which blows in April, and produces 
a yellow berry. It grows to about six or eight feet high. 
Juniper, the common. — Lat. J, communis.- A shrub common in 
England, and bears a fruit of a blackish blue colour. Propa- 
gated by cuttings and suckers, and also by seed, which comes 
up the second year, and should be sown in garden mould mixed 
with sand. The two foregoing should be propagated in the 
same manner. 

372. KGELREUTERIA, panicled.--l.2it. K. paniculata. A 
hardy shrub, ten or twelve feet high, originally from China, which 
blows a yellow flower in August. Propagated by seed, and re- 
quires great care for the first two or three years. It is also ob- 
tained by cuttings planted in February in pots, and put into a 
hot-bed of moderate heat. They take root in about a month, 
and should be separated in the autumn . 

373. LABURNUM.— See Cytisus. 

374. IjKVRWL, or sweet-hay. — hat. Laurus nobilis. Thatcom- 
mon evergreen which we see now in all parts of England forming the 
underwood to high shrubberies, and the fore-ground of low ones. 
It is a native of Italy, but is hardy enough to stand the winters of 
the southern parts of England well, though in the North, and par- 
ticularly if on high and exposed situations, it will not outlive a 
very severe winter. It blows a small white flower in May ; and 
is easily propagated by layers. It grows to ten or twelve feet 
high, when in a sheltered situation, and is more particular as to 
this matter than as to soil. Under the tall Scotch firs in Windsor 



248 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDEX9. [CHAP, 



great Park, immediately adjoining that barrenest of all spots, 
Bagshot Heatii, there are laurels of eight-aud-twenty feet high ! 

I never saw them anywhere so large as there. Portugal 

Laurel. — Lat. Prunus Liisitanica. Another evergreen, and 
common enough in England. It is from Portugal, and blows a 
white flower in June and July, and then produces blackish berries, 
thinly disposed on its flower-stalk. It will grow to twelve or fif- 
teen feet high (and much higher when raised from seed), forming 
a round head like an apple-tree, and having a not inconsiderable, 
though very short, trunk. Propagated from layers or seed ; the 
seed should be sown as soon as ripe in beds. Any soil almost 
will suit it, but it likes a good deep one best. Laurel^ Alex- 
andrian. — Lat. Ruscus racemosus. An evergreen shrub from 
the south of Europe, w hich is about tw o feet high, blow s, in June 
and July, a flower of a yellowish colour, and the fruit is a beauti- 
ful red berry. It is propagated by seed, but most commonly by 
separating the roots (which should be strong) in February or 
jNiarch. It likes a sandy earth, and will thrive in a shady situa- 
tion. 

375. LIME-TREE.— Lat. Tilia Europcea. A hardy tree of 
England, France, Sweden, and other parts of Europe. It would 
grow to a good height, except that it is generally kept short in 
gardens, that the branches may grow thicker and form a shade. 
Blows a yellow flower in May and June. Propagated by cut- 
tings, and sometimes by seed, and likes a soil of good depth. 

376. LILAC, common. — Lat. Syringa vulgaris. A shrub from 
Constantinople, about twelve feet in height, blows, in May, a violet- 
coloured, or white flower. — Lilac, Chinese. — Lat. S. Cki?ie?isis. 
A shrub originally from China. Has a violet-coloured flower. 
Not so tail as the foregoing. — Lilac, Persian. — Lat. S. Per- 
sica. A shrub from Persia, about eight feet high, and, in 
May, blows a light purple flower. They are all to be propagated 
by shoots, suckers, or layers, and they like good deep soil. 
They are very proper for shrubberies, but the first sort in parti- 
cular is too tall for the fronts of them. 

377. LOCUST.— Lat. Pseudo -acacia. A timber-tree of North 
America, which I mention here on account of its being one of the 
most ornamental of our tall shrubbery trees, both owing to its 
handsome foliage, and its handsome and abundant clusters of 
white flowers. It is propagated from seed, which is sometime? 



VII.] 



LIST OF SHRDBS. 



249 



ripened in this country. The plants come up the first year, and, 
in the fall of the same year, may be planted out where they are 
to stand ; though it is certainly better to give them one year in 
the nursery, cutting them down to within a couple or three inches 
of the ground every time you transplant. Their only enemies are 
hares and rabits, and, if planted out young in a place where these 
vermin abound, expect not to preserve your locust trees. 

378. LOBLOLLY BAY. — Lat. Gordonia Lasyantkus. This is 
an evergreen which rises to the height of fifty or sixty feet in Ameri- 
ca, bearing a white flower, in size and shape very much like that of 
the dwarf or round tulip. I have never seen one of them in Eng- 
land, and I suppose that it is about as tender as the Magnolia 
Grandiflora, as it comes from the southern States of America. 

379. MAGNOLIA.— There are seven sorts of Magnolias, all 
of which come from North America. They are called, first. The 
Magnolia Grandiflora, some of which have white and some pur- 
plish flowers. It grows in the southern States of North America 
to the common height of our elms. It is rather too tender for 
exposed situations in England, and is generally placed against a 
house or a high wall facing the south. I have, however, seen 
them standard trees, and of considerable height. Its flowers aie 
magnificent, indeed. They are shaped somewhat like the flower 
of the tulip, and burst open like the tulip. The petals are 
from three to four inches long, and the flower sometimes, 
when quite open, forms a circumference approaching to a foot. 
From the centre of the petals there arises a flower-pod some- 
what in the shape of a pine-apple, which opens when the seed 
is nearly ripe, and the seeds come out from the sides of this 
seed-pod and hang suspended from it by a little sort of 
string. This magnolia is an evergreen, and has long, large, 
and beautiful leaves. All magnolias may be raised from the 
seed ; but that seed must be brought from the country of which 
the tree is a native. The seed comes up the first year in the 
natural ground, but the seedlings must be carefully protected 
during the winter for a year or two. — Second, Magnolia tripe- 
tella, which the Americans call umbrella-tree. This tree is 
hardy, and will grow as a standard in any tolerable situation in 
England. The leaves of this tree are some of the largest and 
finest in the world. I have some now, each of which is about 
twenty-one inches long, and nine inches wide in the middle. The 



2jO shrubberies and flower-gardens. [chap. 

flower is white and has three petals, each of very great length 
and breadth. This tree loses its leaves in the fall. — Third, Mag- 
nolia acuminata. This is another variety. It is hardy, and will 
very well endure the climate of England. — Fourth, Magnolia cor- 
data. This has rather a round leaf, and has a yellow blossom. 
It is about as tender as the Magnolia Grandiflora. — Fifth, Mag- 
nolia auriculata. — Sixth, Magnolia macrophylla. Both varieties 
or the great magnolia, or magnolia grandiflora, and both about as 
tender as that. — Seventh, Magnolia glauca, or small Magnolia. 
This is perfectly hardy, grows in Canada, and in all parts of the 
United States of America, and is a shrub, take it altogether, ex- 
celling every other. It is called the glauca on account of the 
bluish colour on the under side of its leaves, which are of a bright 
green on the upper side, and have the solidity and characteristics 
of the laurel, though the tree is deciduous. It rises to the height 
of tensor twelve feet ; bears a flower of the shape of the dwarf or 
round tulip. It is about the size also of the flower of the dwarf 
tulip, opens by slow degrees, and emits an odour the most de- 
lightful that can be conceived ; far exceeding that of the rose ; 
in strength equal to that of the jonquil or the tuberose, and far 
more delightful. In the country where this tree grows, a clump 
of them scents a whole wood. The tree continues to bear flowers 
for a long while, two months at the least ; for the flowers suc- 
ceed each other, some being mere buds, while the petals of others 
are dropping. This tree will grow in almost any ground : as it 
is generally found near swamps in America, I thought that it re- 
quired a low situation in England, until I saw upon a sand-hill 
partly covered with heath, in a garden which belonged to Sir 
Herbert Taylor near St. Ann's Hill, one of these magnolias in 
as vigorous a state and as full bloom as I ever saw one in America. 
This shrub, like the great magnolia, is raised from layers in Eng- 
land ; but if it were raised from seed, as it very easily might be, the 
plants would be beyond all measure finer than they generally are. 
None of the other magnolias are nearly so odoriferous as this ; all 
but this are somewhat tender : this might be in every shrubbery 
in England with the greatest ease ; and I cannot help expressing 
my hope that it may one day become as common as the lilac. — 
M. Purpurea is from China. A very handsome shrub, blowing 
a pale purple flower early in April. It is hardy, and is propagated 
by layers. 



VII.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



251 



380. MEZEREON.— Lat. Daphne Mezereum. A shrub of 
the most mountainous parts of France, three feet high, and blows 
a rose-coloured, or white, flower, at the end of the winter. Propa- 
gated by cuttings, or by seed sown in open earth, in drills or 
otherwise, but covered two inches thick. It likes a light soil, and 
a rather shady situation. A very nice plant for the front part 
of shrubberies. 

381. MYRTLE, common. Lat. — Myrtus communis. A shrub 
originally from Asia, Africa, Italy, and the south of France. Blows 
a white flower during the summer, and the fruit ripens in the 
autumn. It will grow five or six feet high in pots or against 
walls, but if not well protected will not outlive the winter ; and 
it requires a good aspect to make it blossom. It likes a good 
loamy soil, and I have had it blossom abundantly in such, and in 
a south-western aspect, in Hampshire. Propagate it by cuttings 
of young wood placed under a hand-glass, or by layers. 

382. OLEASTER, narrow-leaved. — Lat. ElcBcgnus angusti- 
folia. A hardy tree of Provence, about thirty feet high, and bears 
a yellow blossom in June and July. Its foliage produces an 
agreeable effect in parks and large gardens, for which only it is 
proper. Propagated by layers or by cuttings, but the cuttings 
require sheltering in the winter. Any soil suits it, but it likes 
best a light, sandy, and rather warm, soil. 

383. OLIVE-TREE.— Lat. Olea EuropoBa. A green-house 
shrub from the south of Europe. Blows a w hite fragrant flower in 
May. Propagated by parting the roots, by suckers, and by cuttings. 
They are often grafted on the common privet. 

384. OLEANDER, or Rose-bay. Lsit.Nerium Grandiflorum. 
A beautiful evergreen green-house shrub, from the south of 
Europe. Grows six or eight feet high, and from July to Sep- 
tember, blows large double pink flowers of the most agreeable and 
most delicate appearance. It requires a good, but rather light, soil, 
water and heat when putting forth its flowers, but little water 
and no damp at other times, as these cause a mould to come 
round its joints. It is a handsome plant in form, and should be 
shifted into fresh pots every two or three years. Propagate it 
by cuttings of the young and just-ripened wood, planted under a 
hand-glass, and with a little heat under, or by layers which root 
freely. It is oiie of the very handsomest of green-house shrubs. 



252 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[(HAP. 



C031MON Red — Lat. N. Oleander — is another species, not 

so tender, and not by any means so handsome. It will grow and 
blow in the open ground, but must be covered carefully in the 
winter. Propagation the same as for the former. 

080. ORAXGE-TREE. — Lat. Citrus. A green-house ever- 
green shrub of the East Indies and south of Europe, which grows 
fifteen feet high, and blows a white fragrant flower in June and 
July. Propagated by sownig in March or April in pots pat in a 
bed of moderate heat, or^ more easily, by procuring from Italy or 
France roots already grafted and pretty strong. These plants 
require a rich mould, and should be manured with rotten dung. 
In the north of France, they are generally kept in large squaie 
boxes of three or four feet diameter, and these boxes being on 
wheels, they are easily moved in and out of the conservatory. The 
sides of the boxes are so constructed as to open hke doors, and 
thus, every year, one side is opened and looked at, and the roots 
are pruned, or fresh mould introduced, as the cultivator thinks fit. 

386. PAEN Y, the Tree. — Lat. Paeonia Moutan. A very hand- 
some plant, growing three or four feet high. Should be in the front 
part of the shrubbery, or, if possible, on the edge of grass, w^heie 
all the kind look handsomest. Blows fine large rose-coloured 
flowers in April and May, Likes a rich soil, is hardy, and is not 
very difficult to propagate by layers, or by cuttings of well-ripened 
last year's wood. 

387. PAP AW. — Lat. Anona triloha — is a native of Canada, and,, 
therefore, hardy. It bears a beautiful purple flower in the month 
of July, and rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet. Being 
hardy, it would be certainly worth the trouble of obtaining the 
seeds from America. 

388. PERIWINKLE, /ar^e.— Lat. Vinca major. A hardy 
trailing plant from the south of Europe, grows two feet high, 
blowing a pretty blue flower during the whole of the summer. 
Propagated by suckers which come in abundance ; likes any soil, 
and a shady situation. 

389. POME-GRANATE.— Lat. Punica granatum. A shrub 
belonging to Italy, Spain, and the south of Fiance. About twelve 
or fifteen feet high, and blows in July and September a beautiful 
red flower. Propagated by suckers and layers, and cuttings, 
which root easily. There are two sorts which have white flowers. 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



Co3 



one double, the other si.:gle. Require the greeu-hoiise in Eng- 
land, and a little heat too. to make them blo\Y strongly. Good 
loamv soil. 

sub. PASSION-FLOWER.— Lat. Passiflora ccErulea. A 
climbing plant, origiaaliy from South America ; is about forty feet 
high, and, from July till October, blows a liow er, the exterior of 
which is a pale green, and the interior a line purple. Its branches 
win extend over a lajge surface of wall in one summer, and, if not 
well looked to and nailed up, will get into great confusion and 
become rather ugly than otherwise. It may be trained up pillars, 
over bo^\ers, or it may be let in at parlour windows. It is, as far 
as its branches go, tender, but will hve throughout the winter if 
matted over with care, and, if not matted, will ofren only die 
do\ra to the root, and spring up again at the approach of summer. 
Propagate by striking cuttmgs in the autumn under a hand-gla^s 
or on a gentle heat. ^Mixture of gardeu mould and peat suits the 
passiou-riower well : but it is not very nice as to soil. — P. Alata. 
The winged passion- fiower is a beautiful green-house climber, 
throwing out rich bunches of red flowers from the moiith of April 
to September. 

391. PISTACHIO-TREE.— Lat. Pistachia vera, A t.ee 
from Syria, twenty or thirty feet high, and blows in April and May. 

Turpentine-tree. — Lat. P. terelinthus. A hardy shrub 

from Barbary, where it attains the height of an elm. Blows 

in April and Mav. Mastick-tree. — Lat. P. lenticus. A 

green-house shrub from the south of Europe, where it is gene- 
rallv about ten or twelve feet high, and blows in April. These 
all bear berries. Propagated by seed, sown in pots and put into 
a hot-bed in the spring. Layers can also be made of them, but 
thev are never so strong. They require a warm situation, and, 
in the winter the roots should be covered with litter. 

392. PRIVET, common. — Lat. Ligustrwn vulgar e. A hardy 
shrub, common in England ; six or eight feet high, and blows a 
pretty odoriferous white flower in June and July. Propagated bv 
cuttings, layers, and seed. Does well in any soil or situation. It is 
generally used for low hedges in gardens and pleasure-grounds, 
w here it is suitable ; and, when white and red roses are planted 
with it, makes as pretty a fence as can be conceived. 

393. PSORALEA, bituminous. — Lat. P. hituminosa. A 
sreen-house shrub of the south of France, about three feet in 



2j4 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



height, and blows a blue flower during the whole of the summer. 
It will sow itself when in a strong earth, and likes a warm but 
airy situation. 

394. PYRUS SFECTABILlS—Bouble-flowering apple, is 
a beautiful shrub. It is a double-blossoming apple, indeed, which 
every one can imagine the beauties of ; but it is not so common in 
shrubberies as it ought to be. Propagated by grafting upon the 
common crab, or upon common apple-stocks. Blows in April 
and May, and is hardy. 

395. REST-HARROW, the purple-flowered shrubby. —Lat. 
Ononis fruticosa. A shrub of the Dauphine mountains, and fit 
for borders of spring shrubs. It grows two or three feet high, and 
blows a red flower from June to October. Propagated by sowing 
the seeds in beds of light earth, but the plants must be put in pots, 
and sheltered from the frost for two years, when they will be 
strong enough to stay in the open earth. Layers will root too. 

396. RHODODENDRON. This is the Latin, and the only 
English name of one of the handsomest shrubs that we have any 
knowledge of. Its native lands are cold ones, the Alps, Siberia, and 
North America. It stands our climate, therefore, very well ; but 
it is fondest of a peaty soil, and therefore should have some such 
mixed with whatever other garden soil it is planted in. It will 
grow and blow without this humouring, to be sure, but not so 
well by any means as with it. The flow-er of this plant appears 
in June, and lasts throughout the month : it is not fragrant, but 
its size, shades of variety, and bold structure, make up for this. 
The plant is evergreen, grows freely, and to the height of many 
feet, in soils that it likes. There are some now in the grounds of 
the Rustic Cottage in Kew^ Gardens that are about sixteen feet 
high. It grows in a very straggling form, however, and is a 
mere shrub. It is propagated by layers, by seed, or by cut- 
tings ; but most easily by the two former. The seed should be 
sown early in the spring in broad-mouthed pots and in a sandy 
soil, very thinly covered, and placed in a frame, upon a gentle 
heat, and carefully shaded. Very little water should be given 
before and after the plants come up ; and when they have been 
up about six ^^eeks they should be very carefully potted out 
singly, and again placed in a gentle heat, shaded and sparingly 
watered. Cuttings from very young wood will thrive if put under 
hand-glasses and excluded from the air a little time by the glasses 



vu.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



255 



being kept tight down over them. There is a new variety, called 
the Tree Rhododendron. It grows in the tree form, blows an 
immense and superb flower, and is, when in full bloom, the most 
beautiful sight of the kind that I ever saw. It has the stately 
form of the tree, with the appendage of a large and most brilliant 
flower ; but its hardiness has not, I believe, yet been tried. 

397. ROSE. — Lat. Rosa, Any eulogy of the rose would be 
childish, and it would not be much less childish to insert a cata- 
logue of roses of more than a thousand in number, from the lists 
of the florists of France and England. The roses that might con- 
tent any man, not a professed florist, are the following: 1st. Pro- 
vence, white and red. 2nd. Moss Provence, white and red. 
3rd. Damask. 4th. Velvet. 5th. Striped. 6th. Maiden s blush. 
7th. Monthly roses, white and red. 8th. Yellow, double and 
single. 9t^. Rose de Manx, \0i\\. Sweet Briar. Austrian 
briar (the flower, the colour of that of a nasturtium). 12th. 
Chinese, or ever-blowing. 13th. Multijlora, many-flowering. 
14th. Lady Banks. The three last may be easily raised from 
cuttings : all the rest from layers or suckers. The Lady Banks is 
a rose brought from China by Sir Joseph Bamks, and given to 
the King's gardens at Kew. It is a little ^white rose, and bears its 
flowers in bunches, and yields to nothing in point of odour except 
the Magnolia Glauca. The leaf is very delicate, and the tree has 
no thorns, in which respect it diflcrs, I believe, from every other 
rose in the world. After all, perhaps, leaf, colour, size, every 
thing taken into accouiit, the Provence rose is still the finest, and 
it ought to be in abundance in every shrubbery. To cause the 
rose to continue to produce flowers for a long while, gather the 
flowers close to the stem, cropping off" the seed hip as soon as the 
petals begin to drop, which, besides the other circumstance, will 
prevent the ground from being littered by the flowers, which become 
putrid in a short time. Roses may be budded on stocks of any vigorous 
sort, and stocks may be raised from the seeds of the dog, or hedge, 
rose. This is the way in which tall standard rose-trees are obtained. 
The stocks should be managed in the same way as stocks for 
fruit-trees. Roses never thrive in poor, and particularly in 
shallow ground. They like cool, and somewhat stifle, ground ; 
and you ah^ays perceive the hedge roses the finest on the sides of 
land which is too stifl" to be arable land. If, therefore, the ground 
of your shrubbery be of a very light nature, you ought to move it 



"-256 SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. [CHAF, 

deep for the lo-es, and to get something of the clayey or marly 
kind to mix with it, it being quite useless to plant the shrub unle-s 
it be made capable of bearing flowers, which it will not in a poor 
hungrv soil. Roses may be trained against houses, and especially 
the Chinese rose. In this case care should be taken to prune out 
old wood occasionally, and to shorten the shoots so as to keep the 
tree in bearing condition. If roses, as standards, are required to 
be of considerable height, occasional pruning must take place to 
keep the head in order, and to prevent one part from rambling 
beyond another. All the roses but the Chinese bear upon wood 
of the last year or some former year ; that is to say, there must be 
wood of a year old or more for a little shoot to come out of to 
bear the flowers. The height of your dwarf rose must depend 
upon that of its surrounding neighbours : if they be low, as in a 
flower-border or tlower-garden, the roses must be so pruned down 
in the wniter as to leave no part of the shrub more than a foot 
high, taking care to leave the strongest and best wood : out of 
this wood come little shoots that bear the roses. A Chinese rose 
will send out a long shoot from the ground in the spring, which 
will bear flowers during the same year. If this rose stand in a 
low border, it must be cut down to within a foot of the ground, 
or it overtops every thing in a short time. 

398. SAGE, Jervsalem. — Lat. Phlornis fruticosa. A hardy 
shrub of Spain and Sicily, three or four feet high, and blows a 
vellow flower in July, August, and September. Propagated by 
dividing the roots, and by sowing in beds prepared for that 
purpose. Not particular as to soil. 

399. SEA-BLXKTHORX.- — Lat. Hippophae rhamoidfs. 
A large hardy shrub from the borders of the Mediterranean, and 
blows in April. Propagated by layers made in black heath-mould. 
Any soil suits it, but light soil is best. 

400. SERVICE-TREE, true.—l.^.x. Sorhus domestica. A 
tree common in England, ab ut tiftv feet high, blows a white 
flower early in the spri-^g. and bears fruit which raoy be eaten. Pro- 
pagates itself in forests, and is obtnined in gardens by seed, and by 

grafting on the white thoni. ]\IouNTAiy-AsH. — Lat S. aucv- 

paria. A tree common in the north of Europe, not so high as the 
preceding one. blows clusters of white flowers in May, and bears 
clusters of beautiful red berries in the autumn. A most orna- 
mental tree for large pleasure-grounds. Bastard Service- 



vn.J 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



257 



TREE. — Lat. Soi^hus hyhrida. A tree common in the north of 
Europe, and differing from the others in its leaves and flowers 
only ; the former being downy, and the latter smaller. Propa- 
gated from seed^ and are obtained sooner by grafting on the 
quince or thorn. 

401. SCORPION SENNA.— Lat. Coronilla emerus, A 
shrub originally from the south of France, three or four feet high, 
bearing, in April and J une, a yellow flower ; and, if dipt with 
the scissors, will blow again in the middle of the summer. Pro- 
pagated by seeds or by suckers, or cuttings planted in the open 
ground early in the autumn. A very pretty plant for the fronts of 
shrubberies. 

402. SNOWDROP-TREE, f our -wing ed.—L'aX. Halesia 
tetraptera. A hardy tree of Carolina, twenty or thirty feet high, 
and blowing a white flower in oVIay. Propagated by seed and by 
layers, which do not firmly take root until the third year. It likes 
a good soil, and will grow freely. 

403. SPINDLE-TREE, common. — ljdiX,EvonymiisEuropceus, 
A hardy shrub twelve feet in height, and blows a whitish flower in 

May. Coimxion in England. Spindle Tree, the icarted. — 

Lat. Evonymus verrucosus. A hardy shrub from Austria. In 
May blows a flower of a brownish purple. These shrubs are pro- 
pagated by their seed sown in light earth in the shade, or by 
ripened cuttings struck in the open ground in autumn. Any soil 
suits them ; and they suit large pleasure-grounds, 

404. SPIRAL A, Hawthorn-leaved. — Lat. Spircea crenata. A 
hardy shrub originally from Siberia, about three feet high, and blows 
a white flower in June and July. — SpiR-EA, Willow -leaved. — Lat. 
SpircBa salicifolia. A hardy shrub from North America, about 
six feet high, and blows a purplish red flower in July and August. 
— Spir-EA, Germander-leaved.— -lu^t. Spircea chamcBdrifolia. A 
hardy shrub from Siberia that blows a white flower eaJy in the 
spring. — SpiRiEA, hypericinn frutex. — Lat. Spircea hypericifolia. 

A hardy shrub, and blows a white flower. From America. 

SpiR-E, Scarlet. — Lat. Spircea tommentosa. A hardy shrub from 
America, and blows a red flower. All these are propagated by 
layers, slips, suckers, cuttings, and also by seed. Not particular 
as to soil. Very desirable shrubs. 

405. ST. PETER'S WORT.— Lat. Symphoria racemosa. A 

s 



£58 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



very pretty dwarf shrub that comes into leaf more early m the 
spring than any other that I know of, and has a leaf of singular 
beauty. I raised, the year before last (1827), great quantities from 
seed got from America. The seed lay two years in the ground ; 
but the plants grew surprisingly after they came up. It blows in 
August a minute, but pretty and pendant, rose-coloured flower, 
which is succeeded by a white berry about the size of a cherry, 
and which hangs on till the winter. This contains the seed 
wrapped up in a kind of frothy pulp. Quite hardy, and very 
easily propagated from cuttings or by parting the roots, or by 
suckers. 

406. ST. JOHN'S WORT, large flowered,— L^t. Hypericum 
calycinum. A hardy perennial from the environs of Constanti- 
nople, which blows a yellow flower from June to September. 
Propagated from seed and by dividing the roots in March. Likes 

a warm situation. St. John^s Wort, hairy. — Lat. Hypericum 

calycinum. A hardy plant common in Europe, growing three 
feet high, and blowing a yellow flower in July and August. Pro- 
pagates itself. Pretty for the fronts of shrubberies. 

407. STRAWBERRY-TREE, red-berried, trailing.— hail. 
Arbutus uva ursi. A hardy shrub, common in England. Blows, 
in March and April, a white flower, and bears very pretty red fruit 
in June. Propagated by seed, sown as soon as ripe, in pots, and 
exposed to the south-east till it is up. When the plants are an inch 
high, they should be planted in little pots till they are strong enough 
to put into the open earth. They like heath mould and rather a 
shady situation. Makes a good show on naked banks. 

408. SUMACH, Venice. — Lat. Rhus continus. A hardy shrub 
belonging to Italy and Austria. It is about eight feet high, and 

blows in July and August. Sumach, Virginian. — Lat. Rhus 

typhinum. A hardy and large shrub from North America. Blows 
a purplish flower in July, propagated by seed, cuttings, and 
suckers. Likes a light soil with a good bottom. Must be shel- 
tered from the high winds. Its chief property is the handsome 
red colour of its leaves in the fall, and for this it is admitted to 
the shrubberies and pleasure-gardens of Europe. 

409. SYRINGA, common. — Lat. Philadelphus coronarius. A 
hardy shrub of the southern parts of Europe, which grows from 
four to ten feet high, and blows a white flow^er in June and July. 



VI,.] 



LIST OF SHRUBS. 



259 



Propagated by suckers or by dividing the roots in the autumn, 
and any soil suits it. Its powerful odour is disliked by many, 
but there are few shrubberies in which it has not a place. 

410. TAMARISK, French.— L2it. Tamarix Gallica. A 
hardy shrub of the south of France, which grows to the height of 
twelve feet, and blows a purplish white flower from May to 
October. Propagated by cuttings made in February and put into 
rich and moist earth, but they must not be transplanted until the 
end of the following year or the spring after that. Likes a 
moist and warm situation. 

411. TREFOIL, Shruhhy.—L^t. Ptelea trifoliata, A shrub 
from North of America, from four to six feet high, and blows, in 
May and June, a greenish yellow flower. Propagated by seed, 
cuttings, and suckers. As hard frosts injure it when very young, 
it should be put in a sheltered situation. 

412. THORN, evergreen. — Lat. Mespilus pyracantha. A 
shrub from the south of Europe. The flower is white, slightly 
tinged with rose, and it blows in May and June. Propagated by 
seed, grafts, and layers. There are two more sorts, the double 
and the rose-coloured, which are more rare. 

413. THUJA, the Chinese. — Lat. Thuja Orientalis. An ever- 
green tree, originally from China, about thirty feet high. Blows in 
March and April. Fit for pleasure-grounds of considerable size, 
and shrubberies. Propagate from seed, and by layers. — Thuja, 
the American. — Lat. Thuja occidentalis . A tree belonging to 
Canada, very much like the preceding one, and blows in February 
and March. Propagated by seed sown in a warm place, in good 
light earth. In about two years they should be transplanted at 
about two feet apart, and toward the fourth year may be put 
where they are to remain. They are also propagated by layers. 
Not at all particular as to soil. 

414. TRUMPET-FLOWER, ash-leaved, ov climbing. ~L?it. 
Bignonia radicans. A hardy climber of North America, which 
grows to thirty feet high, and blows a most beautiful scarlet 
flower in July and August. Propagated by layers or by suckers, 
or from the seed, and, whilst the plant is young, the root should 
be covered with straw during the frost. Common garden soil. 

415. TVlAV-T^EE.—L^Lt.Liriodendrumtulipifera. This, in 
fact, in its native country, is an immense timber-tree ; and, in Eng- 
land, where it is raised generally from layers, it is frequently seen at 

s 2 



260 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



the height of forty or fifty feet, and is suited only to such shrub- 
beries as are of great dimensions. It bears a flower in the shape 
of a tulip : like that of the tulip, the flower has no smell ; but not 
like that of the tulip, the colours of the flower are not at all 
interesting : the leaf is very beautiful, and preserves its freshness 
during the hottest summer. 

416. VERVAIN, three-leaved, — Lat. Verbena triphylla. A 
greeiir-house shrub from Chili. Blows a violet coloured flower from 
June till August. Propagated by layers and cuttings, in March 
and April. Requires rich earth, to be watered frequently during 
summer, and to be put into a green-house in winter. 

417. VIBURNUM, Laurestine, — Lat. Viburnum tinus, A 
hardy evergreen shrub from the south of Europe, and blows in 
April a cluster of flowers, red in the outside and white within. 
Propagated by layers, graft's, and seed. Does well in any soil, 
grows to six or eight feet high, and is very ornamental in shrub- 
beries and on lawns. 

418. WIDOW- WAIL. — Lat. Cneorum tricoccum. A little 
ornamental green-house shrub, originally from the south of France. 
It blows in the months of June and July a small yellow flower. 
Suited to a border of winter shrubs, and propagated by sowing the 
seed under a frame, and transplanting in light soil, and in the 
shade. In the coldest season it requires shelter. 

419. ZIZYPHUS, or CJirisfs-thorn. — Lat. Paliurus aculeatus. 
A hardy shrub from the south of Europe : blows a yellow flower 
in June and July. Propagated by suckers and cuttings, under a 
hand-glass, as well as by seed. Does well in any soil. 



420. It is not right for me to put this List of Shrubs out of 
my hand without observing that I by no means give it as a com- 
plete botanical catalogue. I do not write for the curious in bo- 
tany, but for the use of those, for the practical application of 
those, who have the means and the desire to make pretty spots 
for their pleasure. I might have inserted the names of a great 
multitude of trees and of shrubs which are very curious, but an 
account of which would have been wholly out of place in a work 
like this. 



-VI r.} f LOWERS. [ 



FLOWERS. 

421. These are annual, biennial, and perennial; or, fibrous, 
tuberous, and bulbous. The list that I give below will consist of 
some of each of these, but they will be arranged alphabetically, 
and not according to the above distinguishing characters. These 
are called herbaceous, to distinguish them from shrubs, which are 
ligneous f or woody. And, in their uses, it may be said that the 
one is the flower of the shrubbery, and the other the flower of the 
border. 

422. Flowers are cultivated in beds, where the whole bed con- 
sists of a mass of one sort of flower ; or in borders, where an 
infinite variety of them are mingled together, but arranged so that 
they may blend with one another in colour as well as in stature. 
Beds are very little the fashion now, excepting amongst the 
florists, who cultivate their tulips, hyacinths, and other choice 
flowers, in this manner ; but the fashion has for years been in 
favour of borders, wherein flowers of the greatest brilliancy are 
planted, so disposed as to form a regular series higher and 
higher as they approach the back part, or the middle of the 
border ; and so selected as to insure a succession of blossom from 
the earliest months of the spring until the coming of the frosts. 
This is easily attained by paying strict attention to the height and 
time of flowering of plants, both of which I have taken care to 
notice under each, in the alphabetical list below. In the mixed 
beds of flowers, there are two things which, more than all others, 
tend to give them the desired agreeable appearance : one is, room 
between the several plants. A mat of the most beautiful flowers 
in the world, crowded up against each other, and out of all order, 
never can look like any other than a mass of brilliant weeds. 
There should be room, and considerable room, too, allowed to 
every plant ; and those plants which spread much should be 
carefully kept within their proper bounds. The other is the 
careful tying up of such plants as require it, to sticks of proper 
height and strength. Many do not want it at all, but many do, 
and, if this be neglected or put off", a good high wind will tear up 
the high plants, such as hollyhocks, African marigolds, marvel of 



262 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



Peru, and make them the means of beating down and destroying 
the lesser and, perhaps, choicer ones below them. 

423. In Chapter IV. I have treated at large of propagation and 
cultivation in general, and, as to the 'propagation and cultivation 
of flowers, I may refer my readers to that Chapter for the general 
knowledge, and, therefore, I shall now only notice a few par- 
ticulars that I did not go into there. The plants that I enumerate 
in the following list are propagated either by seed, by cuttings or 
pipings, by parting the roots or the tubers, or by separating the 

offsets. By seed. The general instructions given in Chap. IV. 

par. 86 to 96, are sufficiently in the reader's mind, and I need say 

no more upon that. -By cuttings or pipings^ and by layers. 

The instructions for striking the carnation fully explain this. — — 
By parting the roots. This is taking up the plant, we will sup- 
pose of the peach-leaved campanula, and dividing it into as many 
parts as there are complete crowns ; each of which, if divided so 
as for it to have a piece of root left with it, and if the operation 
be performed early in the spring, will blow the same summer ; 
but it is ' performed generally in the autumn, and the plant is 
quite strong by the next spring. For parting the tubers of 
tuberous-rooted plants, see the article Auricula,*' or ^^Ranun- 
culus.'' By separating the offsets. This is, taking off the 

two or three young bulbs that, on taking up a bulbous root, you 
find growing at its side, its root being fixed on at the root, and its 
body curling up round the body, of the mother l^^bulb. Break 
these off carefully, and treat them according to the instructions 
given for each sort under the respective name of each. As to 
their cultivation, I have spoken so much of it in general, that I 
will not say any more upon that subject. But there is, in this 
division of horticulture, cultivation in pots and also in glasses. 
Potting is a very nice operation ; it should always be done (as it 
very frequently is not) in the most careful manner possible. In 
the first place, the pots that you are about to use should be 
thoroughly clean, both inside and outside ; for nothing looks 
worse than a set of dirty flower-pots, and nothing can thrive in 
a mass of crusted earth which is often found filling flower-pots to 
a third part of their height, having probably been left in them 
ever since they were last used. Having a clean pot, put in a 
handful of broken pot-sherds, put upon this, earth enough to fill 
the pot a little less than half full, take the plant you are going to 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



263 



put into it, in your left hand, and with as good a ball of earth 
about its roots as circumstances will admit ; hold it in the pot to 
see if there be enough, or too much earth in. The earth should 
rise up about the stem of the plant to where it did before you 
took it up, and neither higher nor lower : nature shows the exact 
line at which the root ends and the stem begins ; and you must 
follow this. Place the plant on the earth : hold it steady, while, 
with your right-hand, you put in fine earth round the roots so as 
to touch them in all parts ; that done, take hold of the edges of 
the pot with your two hands, and rap it gently down on the 
ground two or three times ; put on a little more earth, and finish 
by giving a little water, which will cause the earth to settle im- 
mediately about the roots. — If your pots be to remain out of 
doors, place them on a flat surface that has been previously 
strewed over with coal ashes, and this will prevent worms getting 
to them. Always observe to keep pots upright, so that the water 
which you give them may run out, which, unless this be observed, 
it will not, and rotting at the root takes place assuredly. Water 
must be given every day in hot weather, and towards the close of 
the day. In winter it need not be given so frequently, and it 
should be in the fore part of the day, as then the plant has time to 
imbibe the moisture before the cold of night comes on, which, 
coming with the water, might hurt, if not destroy, it. In the 
winter, the greatest care is necessary to keep out damp ; there- 
fore, watering should be very sparingly performed, and none 
splashed about the house or room in which the plants are kept. 
When there is any appearance of moss on the surface of the earth 
in the pots, stir it up with a little stick cut in the form of a knife : 
break the earth fine, and, if you have any in reserve, strew a little 
fresh earth over, after taking off that which had become mossy. 
If there appear mouldiness at the joints of the plants you may be 
sure that there is not air enough given, or that the place is damp. 
In either case, open the lights when the sun is out, if it be not 
exceedingly cold ; and keep up a steady and moderate fire by 
night till the place be thoroughly dry. — In glasses filled with 
water, bulbous roots, such as the hyacinth, narcissus, and jonquil, 
are blown. The time to put them in, is from September to No- 
vember, and the earliest ones will begin blowing about Christmas. 
The glasses should be blue, as that colour best suits the roots ; 
put water enough in to cover the root of the bulb ; let the water 



264 



SHRUBBERIES A^^D FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



be soft, change it once a week, and put in a pinch of saltpetre 
every time you change it. Keep the glasses in a place mode- 
rately warm, and near to the light. A parlour window is a 
very common place for them, but is often too warm, and brings 
on the plants too early, and causes them to be weakly. This 
should be avoided by all means, as it often causes a fine root to 
blow badly. Of the narcissus kind, the polyanthus narcissuses 
are, in my opinion, far the most to be preferred for glasses. 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 

424. ACONITE, or monk's-hood. — Lat. Aconitum napellus- 
A perennial plant from Germany ; which has been long known in 
English gardens, and is still cultivated, notwithstanding the warn- 
ings of Miller and many others, who produce evidence of the 
poisonous effects of the plant in all its parts ; and not only poi- 
sonous when eaten, but even when injudiciously smelled to. Its 
varieties are, deep blue, white and red. It flowers in the months 
of May and June, the flowers coming in a spike at the top of a 
stalk of three feet high. The leaves are of a shining green, and 
very much divided. It makes a considerable show in the larger 
flower-borders ; likes almost any good soil ; and is propagated 
either by parting the roots in the autumn, or by sowing the seeds 
in the spring in the flower-nursery. Aconite {the pyramidal). — 
Lat. A.pyramidatum. A very tall plant, growing full six feet high, 
and blowing, in July and August, a very handsome long spike of blue 
flowers. A handsome plant for the back of borders. Hardy and 
perennial. Propagate by seeds and by parting the roots. Aconite, 
winter. — Lat. Hellehorus hyemalis. A very common but pretty 
little flower, yellow, growing close to the ground, and blowing, in 
February and March, a little yellow flower seated close upon the 
leaf. This plant should be placed in clusters and amongst the 
early flowers, such as crocuses. It may be plentifully propagated 
by parting the roots in summer-time, from June to October, when 
the leaf has dried down. 

425. ADAM'S NEEDLE.— Lat. Yucca flaccida. A South- 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



265 



American plant, with thick coarse stiff leaves, hardy, and, in 
August, sending up a single stem upon which there come a great 
number of white flowers covering this stem all the way up. Pro- 
pagate by means of suckers, and plant in a somewhat sandy soil. 

426. ADONIS, pheasant's eye. — Lat. Adonis annua. An 
annual plant, which inhabits the environs of Paris, and a great 
part of France and Europe ,* and is generally found in fields and 
places which are at all wet. The flower is of a deep red, and the 
plant is straight and one or two feet high, and blossoms from July 
to November. It sows itself, but is difficult to transplant, unless 
done with great care and with a clod of earth at the roots. There 
is a perennial kind which grows to about the same height as the 
former, and blows very handsome and larger and yellow flowers. 
It may be raised by seeds, or by dividing the roots. 

427. ALYSSUM, yellow. —l^dit. A. saxatile. A bunch of 
brilliant yellow flowers in April and May. Plant growing and 
blowing close to the ground ; hardy, fit for rock work, as well as 
for borders; propagate by slips or cuttings in the autumn and 
winter. 

428. AMARYLLIS, yeZ/ow.— Lat. Amaryllis lutea. A hardy 
bulbous root of the south of Europe, which blows a yellow flower 
in September ; requires no more care than that ordinarily be- 
stowed on hardy bulbous-rooted plants, and is propagated by 
ofl'sets which should be nursed two years in a bed appropriated 
to them. This is the only really hardy kind of this handsome 
tribe, so much and so justly celebrated by the ancient poets ; but 
there are one or two others which, though none but those who 
are curious and careful procure for themselves, are nevertheless 
easily obtained from the florists who supply us with the choice 
roots of hyacinth, narcissus, &c., and which I will, therefore, men- 
tion. The Guernsey Lily. — Lat. A. sarniensis. Is a most 

beautiful autumnal flower, coming upon the summit of a slen- 
der and elegant stem of about twelve inches high. This stem 
is unaccompanied by leaf ; but, grouped with young seedling 
geraniums, or any other green plants, they make an uncommonly 
handsome appearance either in a conservatory or in a room. The 
roots are procured from Guernsey by our florists, who import 
them just as they are about to burst into bloom. Put them im- 
mediately in pots having pot-sherds at the bottom, and being 
filled with turfy loam mixed with some sand and a little peat earth. 



266 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



Give water regularly ; not much at a time ; see that it drains off 
well ; and keep the plant out of the heat of the sun or it will 
quickly fade. — — Belladonna Lily. — Lat. A. Bella- Donna. A 
larger plant than the last, bearing much larger flowers, hanging 
downward, five or six in number, and of a pale blush. These are 
procured in the same manner ; but sometimes they arrive in Eng- 
land earlier than at other times, according to the season ; but 
about the first week in September you should inquire for them ; 
for, as they come when just ready to blow, they come in and are 
gone, almost in a day. This last plant, if put into the ground 
deep enough, w ill live through our winters ; but it is properly a 
frame plant. 

429. AFRICAN BLADDER.~Lat. Hibiscus Africanus, 
Trailing plant, hardy and perennial, blow-s a pretty large fi.ower, 
light yellow, with a dark spot at the base of the petals. Flowers 
in July and August ; propagate by parting roots in autumn. 

430. ANEMONE, or poppy. — -Lat. J., coronaria. A 
hardy tuberous-rooted plant from the Levant. There are double 
and single sorts, both equally esteemed by the florists, and both cul- 
tivated in the same manner : if from seed, sow^ in January under 
a frame, having procured fine earth that has received the frost. 
Make your bed very fine, and sow the seed pretty thickly over it, 
and cover very lightly nideed with the same earth. Do not let 
there be more than the thickness of a shilling of earth over the 
seeds ; and give very gentle waterings of soft water, from a fine- 
rosed watering pot, taking care that frost do not penetrate by 
night, nor the mid-day sun; for either would destroy the young 
plants. When the plants are all up and are out in their rough 
leaves, take off the glasses, unless the weather be very severe, and 
shade from sun by day : give gent'e waterings, or admit showers 
of rain. When the leaves of these plants have died away com- 
pletely (wdiich w ill be about the end of March), take up every 
tuber carefully and put them by in drawers, till the next October 
or November, and then plant them in beds or patches where you 
mean them to blow in the next spring. If you have sowed them 
in drills in your bed, you will find it a much easier w ork to take 
up the young tubers than if you had sowed them broad cast ; for 
you easily follow' the rows and pick out the little pieces, which it 
would puzzle you to distinguish from stones when sowed in the 
other manner. By dividing the root of anemones you multiply 



V,..] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



267 



your number very easily. Do this with a sharp knife when you 
take up your roots that are overblown, cutting them into as many 
pieces as there are strong and plump buds, each of which will 
blow strongly the next spring. The soil for the anemone is a 
good, strong, rich garden mould, and the manure rotten cow or 
horse dung ; but the former is mostly preferred, though neither 
should be put too close to the routs of the plants, but should be 
digged in at a foot or a foot and a half below the surface of the 
ground. Avoid planting in a much exposed situation, for the high 
winds knock the plants about, and severe frost will cause them 
sometimes to blow less finely than they would do without such. 
Raise the beds to about three or four inches above the walks, so 
that rains may not lie upon them ; and plant about the latter end of 
October, though, if your soil be very wet, it may be better to plant 
later (the middle of February), as the plant has less time to 
remain dormant and run the risk of rotting. Put in your roots at 
five inches apart every way, making straight drills of about two 
inches' depth for their reception, and taking care to place them in 
these at even distances, a great deal of the beauty of these beds 
depending upon regular order. And, when all tiie roots are placed 
in the drills, cover them over up to the edge of the drills with fine 
earth. The bud, I need hardly say, of the root, or tuber, should 
be uppermost, and the roots, which will have the appearance of 
brown coarse threads, down^^ards. The anemone, though a very 
hardy thing, certainly blows the finer if not pinched during its 
growth by frosts, and it is, therefore, the practice with all the 
liorists to be prepared with a suitable covering of wheaten or barley 
straw as the winter approaches, so that the first intimation of frost 
is a warning to them to cover over their beds of these and other 
similar roots. They are, however, careful not to endanger vege- 
tation by keeping these coverings on unnecessarily, when they 
would assuredly cause the roots to become mouldy and eventually 
to rot ; but they watch for frosty nights, and keep olf the coverings 
at all times excepting those. At the end of June, the plants begin 
dying down, and that is the time for taking them up, separating 
such as you mean to sepaiate, and putting all by for the next 
autumn. There are many varieties of anemone obtained by sow- 
ing the seed ; but the handsomest are the scarlet turhan and the 
scarlet double. 

431. ARCHANGEL, balm-leaved.— h^t. Lamium orvcda. A 



G68 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap 



hardy perennial plant of Italy, two feet high, and blows a flower 
of a pale reddish violet colour, in May, June, and July. Readily 
increased from suckers, and likes a good rich garden soil. 

432. ARN ICA^fiorsican. — Lat. J.. Corsica. A hardy perennial 
plant which grows in the mountains of Corsica, and blows a yellow 
flower in May and June. Propagated by seed and separating the 
roots. Likes a light loamy soil. Is rather large and coarse. 

433. ASPHODEL, yelloic.—lu^t. Asphodelus luteus, A pe- 
rennial plant, originally from Sicily. It is four feet high, blows in 
May, June, and July, a brilliant yellow flower. It is multiplied 
by seed, sown in a hot-bed in pots, and is easily propagated by 
separating its roots. It likes a good moist soil, and is very orna- 
mental w hen in flower. 

434. ASTER, Chinese. — \jxi. A. Chinensis. An annual plant, 
the height of which is from one to two feet. A native of China- 
It blows in August and September. The flowers are variegated 
with red, purple, violet, &c., and it is the great autumnal ornament 
of every garden, flowering till the coming of frosts. Propagated 
by seed, sowed in a hot-bed in the spring ; and, when the plants 
have fiv^ or six leaves, plant them where they are to remain. 
The species that are perennial are propagated by separating their 
roots. 

435. AVENS, the water. — Lat. Geum rivale. An annual plant 
from the Pyrenees and the Alps, which is one foot high, and blows 
a yellow flower in June. Propagated by sowing the seed in open 
ground in the shade, or by separating the roots in September or 
February. It does in any soil, but likes a moist and shady situa- 
tion best. 

436. AURICULA. — lu^t. Priimila Auricula. A florist'sflower, 
propagated by seed, rooted slips, and offsets. It is a native of 
Switzerland, but has been long a favourite plant with English, 
Dutch, and French florists. It is hardy, but, like the aaemone and 
ranunculus, blows the better for care and protection in severe 
winters, and in the heat of summer. If you propagate from seed, 
sow in earthen pans or in boxes in December, or in March, and 
cover very lightly ; give an eastern aspect, and water gently now 
and then. When the plants have five or six leaves, transplant 
them into other boxes or pans, and let them have the same 
management ; and, when they become strong, put them out in 
your borders, where, when ihey flower, you can choose the most 



VH.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



269 



fitting for the purpose of potting. Slips you pull off with your 
hands, and offsets cut off with a sharp knife ; both in the end of 
July, or beginning of August. The soil most suitable to this plant 
is a cool vegetable one ; and the artificial mixtures are very 
numerous, but the one in most general use is half fresh garden 
mould and half well-rotted cow-dung. A little sea sand throw^i 
in amongst it keeps it free. Auricula pots should be six inches 
deep, and as large in circumference at the bottom as at the top ; 
water only in dry times ; and, in continued wet, lay the pots on 
their sides, unless you have a covered stage for them. Wooden 
bars to stand the pots on are very useful. They prevent too great 
a moisture getting at the roots of the plant, which is the case 
when the pots stand on the ground, and they also prevent the 
worms getting in. A slight covering during the frosts of winter 
is necessary for a fine blow. Those plants which are planted out 
in the border should be taken up and parted every three years, or 
they become weak, blow but little, and shortly die. 

437. BALSAM. — Lat. Impatiens halsamina. From the East 
Indies. A most beautiful, but rather tender, annual plant. Well 
known to almost everybody, and almost universally cultivated, and 
is very ornamental in the flower borders, in the green-house, and 
in the parlour. It blows in July, August, and September, double 
and single flowers, red, pink, white, or variegated. The best way 
of propagating is by sowing the seed early in March in a moderate 
hot-bed. By April, the plants must be potted off singly, and then 
struck in the hot-bed again ; then accustom them by degrees to 
the open air, and early in May put them out into the borders, or 
put them into large pots ; according as you design them to blow. 
In a fine warm summer they will be finer in the open air than in 
the green-house or stove ; less drawn up, and bearing flowers 
larger and far more abundant, and towards the fall they will ripen 
seed in abundance, which should be carefully gathered every even- 
ing. The pods should be very cautiously approached for this 
purpose, as, if ripe, they fly in pieces instantly, on being touched, 
and scatter the seed in aU directions. See that the pod be a little 
yellow before you gather it, and then fold your hand round it, 
and let it fly open within your fingers. But, to return to the 
plants, these will never want water after they are once well rooted 
in the open ground ; but a little stirring of the ground round 
them has a great effect on their growth. Those that you keep in 



£70 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



pots will, of course, want some water, but not a great deal ; and 
they should be kept from the scorching sun. Good garden soil 
suits them best. 

438. BARREN-WORT. — Lat. Epimedium Alpiniim, A pe- 
rennial plant, and an inhabitant of the mountains of the south of 
Europe. It is a foot high, and in April and May blows a flower? 
the exterior of which is red, and the interior yellow. It is easily 
propagated by separating the roots, and it likes good moist earth 
and a shady situation. 

439. BEAR'S EAR. — Lat. Cortusa matthioli. A perennial 
frame plant of the Alps, five or six inches high, and blows a pink 
flower, paitaking of the violet, in May. Propagated by dividing 
the roots, and should be cultivated in heath mould. 

440. BIRTHWORT, the common. — Lat. AristolocUa cle- 
matitis. A perennial plant very common in England. It is about 
two feet high, the flower of a pale yellow, and blows in May and 

July. Propagated by separating the roots. ^ Birthwort, the 

long. — Lat. A. longa. A perennial plant which blows from June 
till October. The flower is of a red brown at the top, and a 
bluish violet at the bottom. It is a native of the south of France. 
Propagated by separating the roots, which have a strong aromatic 
odour. 

441. BLATTARIA.— Lat. Verhascum, A biennial plant, 
hardy, its leaves growing close upon the ground, and sending up 
one stalk two or three feet high in the spring, on which come a 
multitude of flowers shaped like the primrose, and of a deep yellow, 
reddish yellow, or white colour. A very pretty plant, propagated 
by sowing the seeds. It is also called the moth mullien. Blows 
in July, August, and September. 

442. BULBOCODIUM.— Lat.^.z;er?z?^m. A bulbous-rooted 
plant from the Pyrenees, that blows a light purple flower in March. 
Should be moved in July. Likes heath-mould, and rather a 
shady situation. 

443. BROWALLIA.— Lat. B. elata. This is a tallish plant 
of most beautiful blue colour. It is a stove or green-house plant; 
but, being raised in a hot-bed in spring, may be turned out into 
warm flower borders to blow. Annual. Flowers from June to 
September, and grows two feet high. 

444. BUGLOSS, viper's. — 'L^U Echium violaceum . Tall, hand- 
some, hardy, annual, growing four feet high, and blowing, in J uly and 



VI..] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



271 



August, abundance of brilliant flowers, of a rich blue and red 
blended together. Propagate by seeds sown early in spring. 

445. C AC AlA A, sow-thistle leaved, — Lat. C. sanctifolia. An 
annual stove plant from the East Indies, growing one foot high, and 
blowing a flower of an orange-red colour in July. Propagated 
from seed sowed in a frame in March. Requires very little water, 
and should be kept out of the house during the summer. 

446. CACTUS.— Lat. C. speciosus. A perennial succulent 
plant from Carthagena ; throws up many long fleshy leaves fes- 
tooned at the sides, and, in May, June, and July, blows an ex- 
ceedingly beautiful rose-coloured flower, about three inches long, 
and double. This plant likes a mixture of light mould and brick 
rubbish. Requires very little water except when in flower, and must 
be brought forward in the green-house, or frame ; though, in a very 
warm room to the south, it will blow. Force it into flower by 
bruising the ends of the leaves ; and propagate by cuttings, which, 
being left in a dry place for a day or two till the cut end become 
dry, and then stuck in a pot of mould, will strike quickly ; but 
these will not flower for a couple of years. 

447. CALTROPS, small, — Lat. Trihulus terrestris. A hardy 
annual plant from the south of Europe, and blows a yellow flower in 
June and July. Propagated by sowing seed in a hot-bed, and, 
when they are fit, transplanting them where they are to remain. 

448. CAMPANULA, thepyramid. — Lat. C.pyramidalis, From 
Savoy. A perennial plant of great beauty, which grows to about 
four or five feet in height, with several minor branches, the main 
one blowing a long spike, or pyramid, of delicate sky-blue flowers, 
in the months of July and August. Propagated by seed, and by 
parting the root. The seed should be sowed in the spring in a 
bed of fine earth, under a hand-glass, shaded from the strong heat 
of the sun, and watered now and then with a fine-rosed watering 
pot. The seed comes up readily if not covered deeply, and, by 
the fall, the plants will be fit to transplant into a nursery bed, 
where they should remain until the following spring, when some 
of them may be thinned out to be planted in the flower-borders, 
where they may blow the same year ; and the rest, being carefully 
tilled between, will be fine strong plants by the third year, and 
may all be put out in the same manner, or potted in large wide- 
topped pots to be brought into the house, where they make a very 
fine show. By parting the roots after the first year of blowing. 



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SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



you multiply your plants, and each plant that you take off is the 
stronger for being severed ; but the plants thus used decline every 
year ; therefore, keep up a succession of plants from the seed, by 
all means. As to soil, this plant is not very particular, though it 
likes a good mould ; but it is very particular in its aversion to 
manure, which is destruction to it. It is one of the most orna- 
mental plants that can be conceived, and suits any situation well. 

Campanula, or Canterbury-Bell. — Lat. C. medium. A 

very pretty German plant ; throws up numerous branches in April 
and May, garnished thickly with long and hairy leaves, and in 
June and July blows abundance of very handsome pendulous 
flowers, either white or light blue : larger than a common thimble, 
but somewhat resembling one in shape. It is biennial, and should 
be sowed every spring either in a hot-bed or not, according to 
convenience, and then pricked out when it comes into rough leaf. 
So Itt it remain till the autumn, when you will plant it either in 
the borders or in the pots where you intend it to blow. Cam- 
panula, peach-leaved, — Lat. C. persicifolia. The last of the 
Campanulas that I shall mention. It is a native of the northern 
parts of Europe ; a perennial plant that also sends up a great many 
shoots in the spring of the year, and bears flowers of the same 
colours as the last, but some are double and some single, and 
all are much broader than those of the last-mentioned plant, 
but are shorter in length. Propagate by dividing the roots ; 
or, more tediously, by sowing the seeds as soon as ripe. All these 
plants are handsome, and should form a part of the collection of 
every one who aims at having an attractive flower-garden and 
no one of them but the first is particular as to soil. 

449. CAMPION, the rose. — Lat. Agrostema coronaria. A 
plant originally from Lyons and Italy, one or two feet high, and 
blowing a bright red flower from June to September. Other 
varieties have white and double flowers. Propagated by sowing 
the seed as soon as ripe, in light earth exposed to the sun, and 
planting out the following March. Also by sowing in a hot-bed 
or in borders in the spring. Is hardy, and will sow itself when in 
a warm and dryish soil. 

450. CANDY-TUFT, the purple.— h^tt. Iberis umhellata. An 
annual plant from the south of France. About two feet high, and 
blows, in June and July, a great abundance of purplish flowers. 
Propagated by seed sown in beds where it is to blow. Any soil 



V...] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



273 



suits it, and it is very ornamental, when sown thickly in little 
clumps. There is a white variety. 

451. CANTERBURY-BELL.— See Campanula. 

452. CASSIA, dwarf. — Lat. C. chamcerista. Leaf-like acacia, 
handsome deep yellow flower, annual. Should be raised in a hot- 
bed carefully, and not put out till June ; when iii a warm border, 
will blow in August. 

453. CARNATION. — Lat. Dianthus caryophyllus. An indi- 
genous plant ; a perennial, but one that has been improved by the 
great care that florists have bestowed upon it for many years. It is, 
indeed, by many esteemed the finest of flowers, next after the 
tulip ; which it surpasses in one respect, that of adding great 
fragrance to great beauty. It is cultivated either in beds, borders, 
or pots : in the latter for the parlour chiefly ; and it is propa- 
gated by layers, pipings, or seed. It blows, from July to August, 
flowers of from two to three, or even four, inches' diameter, of 
divers colours, and either single, semi-double, or double. But 
there are three distinct varieties ; which are, the Flake, the 
Bizarre, the Picotee. The flake has two colours only, and their 
stripes are large : the bizarre is variegated with spots and stripes 
irregularly, and has not less than three colours ; the picot6e has 
mostly a white ground spotted with scarlet, red, purple, pink, or 
some variety of these colours. The stalk of the carnation should 
rise to near three feet, and the bud should be long and uniform, 
not bursting but at its top to let out the flow^er, or, if appearing 
likely to burst at the side, it is as well to open corresponding 
apertures at two other places, so as to let out the flower evenly 
all round. The plant is hardy, but, to blow well, it should be 
defended from excess of wet, especially the wet at the beginning 
of winter, as it renders it more susceptible of frost ; and yet it is 
necessary to avoid stifling it. It cannot do without a free circula- 
tion of air, therefore, whatever covering of mats or otherwise you 
use, be careful to keep it oft' at all times but in constant rain. 
To propagate hy layers, take some compost of one of the two 
kinds that I mention below as proper for this plant ; stir the 
ground with a small hoe round the plant from which you are 
going to make your layers, and place the compost round on the 
newly-moved earth ; then take as many of the stalks as you 
mean to lay (let it be about the time of their being in full bloom); 
fix your knife (a sharp narrow-bladed one) in at an inch below 

T 



274 



SIIRUBBERIRS AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[(HAP 



the third joint from the blossom, and bring it up the middle of 
the stalk until you enter the joint, which you must scarcely divide 
in two : there stop, then, and pull out your knife. Bend down the 
stalk to the earth, and make a little drill with your two fore-fingers 
of one hand, sufficient to hide the whole of the split and a little 
more at each end of it ; put a little wooden peg with a hook to it 
into the side of the drill, and push it into the ground so far as for 
it to come down and fix the stalk at the bottom of the drill where 
you are holding it, and then cover over with compost, pressing it 
gently down with the flat of your hand. By piping Sy about the 
first of July, take the two top joints of a branch, which are the 
fittest for this purpose ; cut off immediately below the second 
joint, and with a sharp instrument ; peel off the outer loose skin 
from the joint, and make a little split up it for about two eighths 
of an inch ; shorten the leaves a little way above the upper joint, 
and this will leave your piping about two inches long. Having 
procured the number of pipings that you mean to plant, throw 
them into a basin of rain water to soften them. You will now 
have to plant them, either in the open ground, or on a hot-bed ; 
but, in either case, you must cover them with a hand-glass, or a 
striking-glass, which is a small hand-glass, not more than eight 
or ten inches square : on a gentle hot-bed is host, the mould 
being one third maiden earth, one third leaf-mould, one third 
well-rotted horse-dung, and with a sprinkling of sharp sand 
amongst it. Place your glass down where you are going to put 
the pipings, and thus mark out the space ; then take your pipings 
out of the basin and force them, one by one, into the mould to 
about three parts of an inch of their length, and let them be an 
inch apart from one another. Do not put on the glass till all the 
leaves and stalks are dry, for they would inevitably rot if you were 
to do this. When they are dry, however, put on the glass, 
making its edges fit exactly into the mark that you made by its 
means before you began planting, and thus you will not disturb or 
crush any of the outer pipings. Thrust the edges of the glass 
down a little way into the earth, so that no air can get in. This 
is what the French call stifling. Shade by means of netting or 
matting from the sun, but yet do not exclude its rays completely. 
It is in giving air, light, and moisture, at this time, and for the 
following three weeks, that the greatest skill is required. If the 
pipings appear to be doing well, that is, looking of a good colour 



MI.] LIST OF FLOWERS. 275 

and not contracting mould, let the glass stand for about ten days 
Avithout being moved ; but, unless the weather be wet, water over 
the glass every morning. At the end of ten days, take it off ; 
let it be early in the morning if the weather be dry and hot ; and 
turn the glass upside down that it may become aired. If you 
perceive any pipings beginning to mould, pull them up instantly ; 
give a little water through a fine rose : let the plants dry again 
perfectly, and then again put on the glass. The weather being 
favourable, give air every morning for half an hour or an hour ; 
but never shut up whilst the pipings are wet ; and, if you have 
showery weather, give air between showers, if it be but for five 
minutes of a morning. In about six weeks they will be fit to 
transplant into small pots ; make use of the same sort of mould ; 
plunge the pots, or simply stand them, in another gentle bed, and 
put frames or hand-glasses over them till your plants have struck 
again ; and here they may remain till September, when you pot 
them or plant them out. If you perform this work in the open 
ground, choose a spot under a wall facing the east, where none but 
the morning sun comes ; use the same preparation of mould, and 
use a hand-glass, acting in all respects as prescribed in case of a 
hot-bed. Pot off your plants in the month of March following ; 
using pots of about tv\'elve inches wide at top, and eight inches wide 
at bottom ; these should have good clean circular holes at tlie 
bottoms, and, beside, two or three smaller holes in their sides at 
about two inches from the bottom ; and these effectually prevent 
water remaining about the roots of the plants. The same soil 
that you struck your plants in will do to blow them in. I will 
here give Miller's direction for a mixture, and then proceed 
to the propagating by seed : Take mould from a good upland 
pasture, or a common that is of a hazel earth ; dig out earth from 
the first eight inches from the surface ; let this be laid in a heap to 
mellow for one year ; then mix a third part of rotten neat^s dung, 
or dung of an old cucumber bed ; mix them well together, turn 
the heap every month for eight months, and it will be lit for use." 
By seed. The seed of the carnation does not every summer ripen 
in England ; but seed is procured from the continent in abun- 
dance. Sow in pots of light earth, or on a cool bed with a frame 
over it, in the month of April ; and cover it in the slightest pos- 
sible manner. Shade the young plants from hot sun ; and, when 
they have six leaves, prick them out two or three inches asunder, 

T 2 



276 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



ill a well-prepared bed of the garden. The next year they will 
flower, and therefore should be planted out, or potted for blowing, 
in the fail of their first year's growth. Lastly, the carnation is 
greatly the prey of ear-wigs, so much so that precautions the most 
careful are always resorted to to prevent the plants falling a sacri- 
fice to these mischievous vermin. See paragraph 309. 

454. CATCHFLY.— Lat. Silene compata. A very pretty little 
hardy annual, which should be sown very early in thick clumps. 
It produces abundance of seed, and if suffered to sow itself, will 
come up in the autumn and be very strong, and early in the spring. 
Blows in July and August, and grows a foot and a half high.-- — 
LoheVs Catclifly is a very handsome perennial, blowing a very 
pretty double peach-blossom-coloured flower in May and June, 
which rises from a tuft of leaves to about eighteen inches in 
height. Likes a good garden mould, but is not very particular 
in that respect ; and it is very easily propagated by parting the 
roots in spring or autumn. 

455. CENTAURY, or 5Z£;ee^5z<^^«w. — Lat. Centaur eamoschata. 
A hardy annual plant from the Levant, about two feet high, and 

blows a purple flower in July and August. Centaury, or 

yellow sweet sultan, — Lat. C. suaveolens. A hardy annual plant 
from the Levant, one or two feet high, and blowing a yellow 
flower in July and August. Propagated by sowing in pots 
or in a bed, and planting out when the young plants are large 
enough. 

456. CHRYSANTHEMUM, Indian.— L^t. C. Indicum. A 
perennial plant of China and India, which grows three feet high, 
and blows beautiful deep puiple, white, and yellow flowers in No- 
vember and December. Propagated by dividing the roots in spring, 
or by cuttings in summer, and requires moving every two years, 

and good rich land. Chrysanthemum, corn marigold. — Lat. 

C. segetum. An annual plant, common amongst wheat, which 
grows one foot high, and blows a vellow flower in July. Propagated 

by sowing. Chrysanthemum, garden. — Lat. C. coronarium. 

An annual plant from the south of France, which grows two or 
three feet high, and blows a yellow or white flower in July, 
August and September. Propagated by sowing the seed where it 
is to blow. 

457. CHELONE. — Lat. C. harhata. A perennial plant ori- 
ginally from Mexico, w hich blows a beautiful red flower in July and 



Ml.] 



LIST OF FLOWEKS. 



277 



August. Rather tender. About three feet high. Chelome, 

the hell- flowered. — Lat. C campanulata. A perennial plant from 
Mexico, which blows, in July and August, a red flower. About a 

foot high. Chelone, the downy. — Lat. C. 'pensthemon. A 

perennial plant from Virginia. It is about a foot high, and 
blows, in July and August, a flower which is yellow in the inside 
and light purple on the outside. They are all three multiplied by 
seed, as well as by separating their roots, in the autumn. They 
are not very delicate, but it is best to give them a moist earth and 
shady situation. 

458. CINERARIA, or rag-wort. — Lat. C maritima. A pe- 
rennial plant from the sea-coasts of Provence and Languedoc. 
Grows two feet high, and blows a shaded yellow flower from June 
to September. Propagated by suckers and by seeds ; if the latter, 
it blows the second year. It should have a rich soil. 

459. CISTUS, common dwarfs or little sun-floicer . — Lat. C. 
helianthemum. A perennial plant from the south of France, blows 
a yellow^ flower from May till September. There are varieties ; 
white and rose-coloured, and all hardy, and are easily increased 
from the seed, which should be brought forward in pots. 

460. CLARKEA PULCHELLA.— An annual, blowing, in 
June and July, a very pretty pale pink flower. The plant grows 
about a foot high, the leaves as well as the flower are very irre- 
gularly shaped ; and, though a very pretty flower, the plants 
should stand thickly together, or they do not make much show\ 
Sow^ in the beginning of April, in clumps. 

461. COLCHICUM, or meadoiD-saffron, — Lat. C. autumnale. 
A bulbous plant common in Europe, about three or four inches 
high, and blows a reddish purple flower in September and October. 
Propagated from ofl'sets, taken ofl" when the leaves are quite dead,^ 
and planted in July or the beginning of August. It is common 
in the upland meadows of Herefordshire, and other counties of 
England. 

462. COLUMBINE. — Lat. Aquilegia vulgaris. A perennial 
plant, commonly found in gardens, two or three feet high, and blows 
a blue, red, white, or variegated flower in June and July. It likes 
shade, and stiff earth, and is propagated by dividing the roots in 
the autumn. The single-flowered may be obtained by sowing the 
seeds ; but, if sown in the spring, they seldom come up, and 
never till the next year. 



^278 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER GARDENS. 



[chap. 



463. COMFREY-LEAVED HOUND'S TONGUE.— Lat. 
Cynoglossum ompJialodes. A perennial plant, originally from Pied- 
mont and Portugal, about three or four in^:hes high, and blowing 
a blue flower in March. Propagated by dividing the tufts, in 
which it grows, after it has flowered. Likes a fresh soil, a\id 
requires water in very dry weather. 

464. CONVOLVULUS MINOR. -Lat. C.^ncoZor. Ahardy, 
traihng, annual plant, from Sicily, which blows a shaded blue- 
and-white flower in June, July, and August. Propagated by sow- 
ing the seed in light and rather warm earth. Convolvulus 

Major. — Lat. Convolvulus purpureus. An annual climber of 
great beauty. Grows eight or nine feet high, if it have sticks of 
that height given it to run up, and blows, from July to Septem- 
ber, a beautiful bell-shaped purple or white flower, in great 
abundance, but open only in the mornings and evenings of the 
hot months of July and August. Sow in April where it is to 
stand, or in March in pots to transplant. Sow some in pots to 
bring into the house ; but in no case have more than two plants 
in one spot, as they branch out and become so heavy that winds 
and rains tear them about and endanger other neighbouring plants 
by their means. Slake them as soon as they are beginning to run. 
and cut a\'\ay straggling branches that they will send out from the 
bottom. Their height sufficiently proclaims them a plant to be 
placed in the back part of the flower-border. 

465. CORAL-TREE. — Lat. Erythrina Crista-galli, This is 
properly a shrub, but I put it amongst herbaceous plants, because, 
when grown in the open air, it dies down and becomes so in effect. 
It is so beautiful a plant, both in flower and in leaf, that every orna- 
mental gardener should attempt to have it, at any rate. The flower 
is something in the shape of the pea-blossom, but is as large as 
that of the pomegranate ; is is precisely the colour of a cock's- 
comb, and blows in August and September abundance of these 
beautiful flowers. It is generally grown as a hot-house shrub ; 
but I have seen it, when planted under a wall in good aspect, 
produce better flowers and more of them than I ever saw on the 
hot-house plants. • When planted out thus it dies down at winter, 
and should be covered over with litter. Propagate by cuttings 
with a joint, placed in sandy loam in a moderate and moist heat, 
covering the cuttings with a hand-glass. 
466. COREOPSIS, e«?'"/6'«re^/. — h. C.aitriculaia. A hardyper- 



V,,.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



279 



eniiial of North America, two feet ia height, and blows a jellow 
liower from August to September. Coreopsis, alternate- 
leaved. — Lat. C. delphinifolia. A perennial plant of North Ame- 
rica, eighteen inches high, and blows a jellow and very bright 
dower from July till October. Both sorts propagated by dividing 
their roots. Any soil suits them, but they like an open situation. 

467. CORIS, Montpelier. — Lat. Mons-joeliensis. A biennial 
frame plant of the southern coast of France, seven or eight inches 
high, and blows a pretty red flower in May and June. Propagated 
by seed sowed in pots, in the spring, and likes a bght and sandy 
soil and but little water. 

468. CORN-FLAG. — Lat. Gladiolus communis. A plant from 
the south of France, one or two feet high, and blows, in June and 

July, a purplish flower. The Superb — Lat. G. car dinalis— is 

larger than the common, and is of a fine deep scarlet, with large 
white spots on its lower petals. Grows two or three feet high. 
Flowers in July and August. The variety called Gladiolus Py- 
ramidalis is also very handsome, and is an abundant flowerer. 
For the treatment of these plants, see Ixia ; for what suits that 
plant suits these. Propagate them all by offsets. 

469. COWSLIP. — Lat. Primida veris. A hardy perennial 
plant, common in meadows all over England. It blows a pale yellow 
flower in April and May. Propagated by separating the roots, 
also by seed, sow^n in November and December, in shallow pots 
full of good light earth. The seed sown on the surface of this 
earth should be lightly covered with sandy or heath mould, and 
the pots exposed to the east. Should remain a year in the pots, 

and be planted out in the spring. Cowslip, Virginian. — 

Lat. Dodecatheon meadia. A perennial plant from Virginia, 
'.vhich is about eight or nine inches high, and blows in April or 
iSIay. It does very well in the open ground, and when kept in a 
house in pots, it shoidd be exposed to the air in mild weather. It 
likes goo i earth, mixed with rotten dung. Propagated by sepa- 
lating the roots every three or four years. 

470. CREPIS, or Haick's beard, purple. — Lat. crepis rubra. 
A hardy annual plant of the south of France, about eight or ten 
inches high, and blows a purple flower in June and July. Pro- 
pagated by sowing in borders in the spring, and planting out 
when the plants have a few leaves. 

471. CROCUS. — Lat. C. vermis. Indigenous bulb : and one of 



280 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



the earliest ornaments of our tlower gardens. There are several 
varieties ; yellow, pale yellow, blue, striped, and white. All are 
handsome, but none make so great a show in the border as the 
deep yellow, which should always be planted in clumps of ten or 
a dozen plants in a clump, the bulbs at three inches from one an- 
other, and the clumps should be in the front of borders in which 
there are shrubs, or between the shrubs, so as not to be out of 
sight. Planting them in long rows spoils the effect : but having 
alternate clumps of yellow^ and blue gives an additional variety, 
and adds somewhat to the gaiety always produced by this hand- 
some little plant. Do not cut off the leaves of your crocuses 
when they are overbl wn ; as this only weakens the plant. Move 
them when their leaves are dying down in autumn, but not more 
than once in three years. Separate the offsets then, which you 
will find abundant, and thus, with little trouble, you propa- 
gate them. The crocus likes a good, rather light, and not 
wet, garden soil ; and it should be planted two inches deep in 
the ground. 

472. CYCLAMEN, or sow-bread. — Lat. C. EuropcBum. A 
perennial frame plant from Austria. Blows, in April, a flower 
that is white, tipped with pink. Propagated by seed, sowed as 
soon as gathered, or by offsets. Likes a sheltered situation, and a 
south-east aspect. Does best in heath-mould. Blows the third 
or fourth year after sowing. 

473. DAFFODIL, the onion-leaved. — Lat. Asphodelus fistulosiis 
A bulbous plant, and a native of the south of France. Its height 
is about two feet, it blows from June till September ; the flow^er is 
white with a red stripe. It is multiplied by the seed, sown in pots, 
and put into a hot-bed ; and it is easily propagated by separating 

its roots. It likes a good moist soil. Daffodil, refiexed.— 

Lat. Narcissus triandrus. Bending neck, and the petals turning 
up. Light yellow. Found in the Pyrenees. Grows eight inches 
high. Blows in March and April, is as hardy and may be treated 

like the others of the species. Daffodil, the great. — Lat. 

Narcissus major. The largest of the species. F'lowers in April ; 
and is readily propagated by offsets ; differs from Narcissus 
pseudo-narcissus, by being much taller, having leaves much 
more twisted, as well as more glaucus ; its flowers much larger, 
and the petals more spreading. It varies with double flowers. 
Daffodil, least, — L-at. Narcissus minor. Blossoms yellow, 



V,,.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



281 



double, not so large as those of the other species, but tiowers 
much earlier ; not more thau three inches high. Plant in clusters, 
aiid propagate by offsets, which come fast. 

474. DAHLIA. — A tuberous perennial plant, originally from 
Mexico. It grows to the height of ten or twelve feet in l ich land, 
and blows a large handsome flower, red, yeilow, white, primrose, 
purple or scarlet, in September, continuing till the setting in of 
frosts. The height to which it grows renders it unfit for very small 
gardens, but the beauty of some of the double varieties causes it 
to be often found even in the smallest. For extensive parterres, the 
outer rows of shrubberies, and for corners that want hiding, this is 
a magnificent plant ; and it is also to be kept to a moderate height, 
but only by putting it in unmanured and poor soil. The poorer 
the soil, the lower it will be ; and yet it will blow well in such. 
Always keep it, when in a growing state, tied to good high and 
stout stakes. Propagate by parting the root, or by cuttings which 
root very freely if planted in the spring with two joints to them ; 
for from seed, though you procure fiesh varieties, you lose the 
sort that you saved your seed from. When the stems begin to be 
nipped by the frosts, dig up the plants carefully, letting as much 
mould stick to them as will do so, and hang them up in some 
place that is neither hot nor damp. They shrivel up if in too dry 
a place, and they rot infallibly if in a damp place. In April, part 
the roots and replant them. They frequently appear dead when 
they are not so. Keep them from frost, of course. I subjoin a 
list of a few of the handsomest sorts now in fashion ; but, as the 
varieties are increasing yearly at a rapid pace, it is impossible to 
give, in the space that I have for it, anything like a full list. The 
Countess of Liverpool, an immense scailet flower, plant growing- 
five or six feet high. Atro purpurea superha. Barnardia, fine 
red. Bedfordiana, very dark. Bensa, rose. Crimson midtiflora. 
Eximia, orange. Lilac pumila. Man of Kent, bright purple. 
Morning star, scarlet. Neio Blanda, lilac. Painted Lady, rose 
and white. Priscilentissima, white. Bulla, very dark. Crim- 
son glohe. Scarlet turhan. Coccinia speciosissima. Queen of 
Roses. I^ing of the Whites. Large yellow. Lees Glohe 
orange. Lee's atracta aneyiioneuora. 

475. DAISY. — Lat. Bellis perennis. Indigenous and peren- 
nial. Varieties are pale red, deep red, green-hearted, variegated and 
whi.e, and it is used for edgings, but is a vejy poor thing for the 



282 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



purpose. It is a pretty little plant, nevertheless, and, in little 
clumps, parted every year in order not to degenerate, it adds to 
the beauty of the front rows of the flower-border. Propagated 
only by parting the roots, in February or March. 

476. DELPHINUM.— See Larkspur. 

477. DEVIL-IN-A-BUSH.— Lat. Ni^ella Damascena. Is 
about two feet high ; blows a sky-blue flower from June till Sep- 
tember. Propagated by seed, sown in patches, ^\here it is to 
remain. Likes a warm situation. Native of the south of France, 
and an annual. 

478. DRAGON'S-HEAD.— Lat. Dracocephalam Austria- 
cum. — ^From the south of Europe, perennial, from eight inches to 
a foot high, sending up numerous stems, and blowing tufts of blue 
or red flowers in July and August. Likes good rich earth, and is 
easily multiplied by parting the roots, or by sowing in beds. Should 
be separated at least every three years. 

479. DOLICHOS. — Lat. D. purpureus. A pretty climber 
of the East Lidies ; grows ten or twelve feet high if trained up a 
frame or a string ; and blows a beautiful pale lilac pendulous 
flov^'er in June and July. Propagated by cuttings planted under 
a hand-glass, or by seed, which ripens freely. 

480. EGG-PLANT. — Lat. Solanum melongena. An annual 
plant, originally from Asia and America. About fifteen inches 
in height, and blow^s white or violet flow^ers in June and July. 
Bears a fruit which is eaten, but it is raised here only for the 
curiosity of the egg-shaped fruit which it bears. It likes a light 
rich soil, and is readily procured by sowing the seeds. 

481. ERYTHRINA.— See Coral Tree. 

482. FERRARI A, cwrM.— Lat. F. undulata. A party- 
coloured singular flower with waved edges, the flower resembling 
ia shape and position the tiger lily. Bulb. Flowers from February 
to May. Propagate by ofl"sets. Treatment, similar to Ixias. 
Flower opens in the moriiing and closes in the afternoon ; but 
blows abundantly. 

483. FIG, the common Indian. — Lat. Cactus opuntia. From 
America, where it grows on rocky places, and dry hills, and, in 
the month of July, blows a yellow flower. This is a green-house 
])lant in England. It is very succulent, and should not be much 
^^atered except during the time that it is flowering, and then it 
may have more water. Cuttings root readily in pots. Perennial. 

484. FIG MARIGOLD. —Lat. Me^emhnjantliemum hico- 



VI..] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



283 



loriim. This species expands only when the sun is hot upon it, 
when it is a splendid red. Native of the Cape. Flowers in July j 
readily propagated by cuttings ; requires shelter during winter. 
Perennial, and grows three feet high. — See Mesembryan- 

THEMUM. 

485. FOXGLOVE, lesser yellow. — Lat. Digitalis parviflor a. 
A perennial plant from Italy, two or three feet high, and blows a 
yellow flower in June and July. Propagated from seed, and sows 

itself.^ -Large Yellow. — Lat. D. amhigua. A perennial, 

with larger flowers than the foregoing, yellow with a hue of 
purple. Grows three feet high, flowers in the same manner and at 
the same time the rest of the kind ; and should be treated and 

propagated in the same manner.^ Common Foxglove. — Lat. 

Digitalis purpurea. A biennial plant, found commonly in Eng- 
land, two or three feet high, and blows a purplish red flower in 
June, July, August aad September. There is a white variety of 
this species ; both are very ornamental, and are propagated by 
seeds, sown and otherwise managed, just as you do the Canterbury- 
bell, which see. 

486. FRAXINELLA, or white Dittany. — Lat. Dictamnus 
albus. A perennial plant, originally from the south of France, about 
two feet high, and blow^s a white or purple flower, in June and 
July. Propagated by sowing the seed in borders, or in pots, as 
soon as ripe. If not sowed till the spring, it does not come up 
till the second year. When the plants can be moved, they must be 
put in a nursery to stay two or three yeais before being planted 
w^here they are to b ow. When the roots are strong enough, parts 
may be taken ofl", and it may thus be obtained with less trouble 
than by sowing. The fraxinelia afi^ords scarcely any flower till 
the fifth year after sowing ; but its flowers are so abundant and 
so handsome, its leaves so rich in colour and in odour, and the 
whole plant is so elegant, that, where you cannot procure roots, 
it well deserves the pains and the patieiice necessary to procure it 
from seed. It likes a good soil, and, in the winter, requires a 
covering of litter after the stalk has died down. 

487. FRITILLARY, crown imperial. — Lat. Fritillaria im- 
perialis. A large p ant from Persia, near three feet high, proceeding 
from a large, nearly round, scaly bulb of nauseous smell. It blows, 
in April, a red flower hanging downwards, like a tulip turned dow^n. 
Another variety blows a yellow flower ; and this latter is by far 
the handsomest. Propagate by pa i ling the offsets every two or 



£84 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[C MAP. 



three years ; take up the plants in July, long before which time 
the stalks will have died down ; take off what offsets may appear 
at the sides of the mother bulbs, and then keep them all in a dry 
place till the middle of August, when you will do well to plant 
them again, as this bulb will not do so well if it remain long out 
of ground. Plant at three or four inches depth in land not too 
much manured, and not too stiff or wet, as it likes rather a sandy 
loam. 

488. FUMATORY, bulbous. —LrL Fumaria bulbosa. A 
perennial plant, a native of Europe, five or six inches high, and 
blows a purplish flower in February, March, and April. Propa- 
gated by separating the roots in autumn, or by sowing the seed in 

beds exposed to the sun. Yellow Fumatory. — Lat. F. lutea. 

A perennial plant, from mountainous places in England, growing 
one or two feet high, and blowing a yellow flower from April to 
No /ember. Propagated like the bulbous fumatory. 

489. GAURA, biennial. — Lat. G. biennis. A hardy plant of 
Virginia, five or six feet high, and blows a very pretty flower, of 
a pale red colour, from August to September. Propagated by 
sowing the seed, which may be done as soon as it is ripe ; it will 
then come up in the spring, and blow the following year. 

490. GERANIUM, striped. — Lat. G: striatum. This species 
is finely striped on the petals with red veins, and the leaves are 
marked at the corner with a spot of purplish brown colour. Hardy 
plant, without stalk, blowing in May and June. Propagate by 
parting roots. Prefers loamy soil and shady situation. 

491. GENTIANELLA.— Lat. Gentiana Acaulis. Three 
inches high. Naturally this plant has not a stalk, but by cultivation 
it has acquired one. A brilliant blue bell-shaped flower. Does not 
prosper very near London : being an alpine plant, it likes an airy 
situation and loamy soil moderately moist. Flowers in May • 
and is well worthy of some pains in obtaining. Propagate by 
parting roots in autumn ; but the best plants come from seed. It 
is a perennial plant. 

492. GERMANDER, the shining. — Lat. Teucrium lucidum. 
A plant that inhabits Provence, Piedmont, and St. Bernard. Blows^ 
in June and July, a reddish purple flower, and is from one to two 
feet high. Propagated by seed, sown in a hot-bed and in borders, 
as well as by separating the roots in autumn. Any soil will 
suit it. 



vn.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



285 



493. GLADIOLUS.-— See Corn Flag. 

494. GLOBE-FLOWER.— Lat. Trollius Europmis, A hardy 
perennial plant of England, about one foot high, and blows a 
yellow flower in May, and sometimes again in September. Pro- 
pagated by dividing the roots in the autumn, and it should have a 
moist, but not too shady, situation. 

495. GLOBULARIA, wedge-leaved. — Lat. G. cordifolia. A 
perennial frame plant of Provence, blowing a blue flower at the 
latter end of April. Propagated by sowing in pots or in a hot-bed. 
When once obtained they are easily perpetuated by dividing the 

roots. They like a light soil, Globularia, blue daisy.- — Lat, 

G. vulgaris, A perennial frame plant, common in France, about 

five inches high, and blows a blue flower in June and July, 

Globularia, three tooth-leaved. — Lat. G. alypum. A green- 
house shrub from Montpelier, one or two feet high, and blows a 
blue flower in March and April. Propagated like the wedge- 
leaved globularia. 

496. GOLDEN ROD, — Lat. Solidago sempervirens. A hardy 
perennial from North America. About four feet high, and blows, 
towards the end of autumn, a yellow flower. Propagated by 
separating its roots in the autumn and in February : also by 
sowing seed in the autumn. 

497. GOLDY LOCKS, the flax-leaved.— L-dt. Chrysocoma 
lynosiris. A perennial plant common in France, which grows to 
the height of eighteen inches, and blows a yellow flower in Sep- 
tember and October. Propagated by sowing in a hot-bed, or a bed 
prepared for that purpose, and transplanting when fit. It likes 
light soil and a sunny situation. 

498. HAWK-WEED, wood, — "Lat.Hieracium sylvaticum. A 
hardy perennial plant, common in England, about a foot high, and 
blows a yellow flower in June and July. Hawk-weed, endive- 
leaved. \jd\.. Hieracium intyhaceum. A hardy perennial plant from 
the Alps, about two feet high, and blows a yellow flower in July 
and August, Propagated by the seed as well as by suckers. It 

will do well in any soil, but prefers a dry one. Hawk-weed, 

the clammy. — Lat. Hieracium glutinosum. An annual of the south 
of Europe. Should be soM^n in the open ground, and it blows a 
yellow flower in June and July, Is not particular as to soil. See 
Crepis also. 

499. HELLEBORE, black.— Lsit. Helleboriis niger—or 



286 



SJiRUliBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[CIIAR 



Christmas Rose. White, single. Blows a flower about the size of 
half-a-crown. Leaves small, sawed, oval. Plant takes its name 
from its black tuberous root. Blows in open borders at Christmas 
and January. It will grow well in pure air, and situation mode- 
rately moist and soil not manured. The flower first opens white, 
and often becomes pure green. Part roots in autumn. Grows eight 
or ten inches high. — -Hellehorus Hyemalis — (Winter Aconite), 
— See Aconite, 

500. HENBANE, ^oZ(ie«-j^o26-ere<i. — Lat. Hyoscyamus aureus. 
Flowers most part of the summer, but never ripens seeds in Eng- 
land. Should be kept in pots and sheltered in winter. A hand- 
some light yellow flower, with dark purple at bottom of the petals ; 
leaves jagged and hairy. Propagate by cuttings planted in pots, 
stood in a shady border about August or beginning of September. 
Grows twenty inches in height, and lasts four years. 

501. HOLLYHOCK, Chinese. — 1^21. Althcea rosea. A hardy 
biennial plant from China, about six or eight feet high, and blows, 
from July till September, a flower that is red, pink, white, or a 
yellowish colour. Propagated by sowing seed in the open earth, 
about the end of June or July. They may be transplanted in a 
month after they come up. Do not, generally, blow the first year. 
Like good substantial mould, and a ^^ arm situation. The common 
hollyhock of the gardens, and which is ranked amongst biennial 
plants, will last much longer than two years ; but, after the fourth, 
is not so fine. It requires good rich mould, and will then come 
to the height of ten or twelve feet ; is of almost all colours, blows 
abundantly, and is easily raised from the seed, but its great height 
and robustness mark it out for a shrubbery, rather than a border 
plant. Keep it staked, or, towards autumn, the high winds, assist- 
ing its own weight, will tear it about sadly, and it does much 
mischief often in its fall. 

502. HONEY-SUCKLE, French.— lja.i Hedysarum coro- 
narium. A hardy biennial plant, originally from Spain and the 
south of France, about two feet high, and has a red flower in July 
and August. Propagated by sowing seed in the spring, in light 
garden mould, and transplanting the plants into the place where 
they are to grow, in the autumn. 

503. HONESTY, or moon-wort. — Lat. Lunaria annua. A 
hardy annual plant of Provence, growing two or three feet high, 
and blowing a flower of a reddish violet, or blue colour, in June and 



vn.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



287 



July. When in bloom it adds to the ornament of gardens, and 
in winter its bunches of fruit produce a singular effect in parlours, 
where it is often kept. Propagated by seed sowed in open earth, 
as soon as ripe, and in a sunny situation. It does not blow till 
the second year, but afterwards sows itself. 

504. HOP, common. — Lat. Humulus Lupulus. A hardy peren- 
nial plant, common in England. Blows a green flower from June 
till August. Propagated by seed or separating the roots. Likes a 
deep loamy soil. Its flower does not recommend it to the florist ; 
but its large and handsome clusters of fruit, and its general hand- 
some and luxuriant growth, lit it well for an ornamental climber, 
either to run up single stakes given it for the purpose, or to climb 
over arbours, or through the branches of trees, where it makes 
a very pretty shew indeed. As to its other uses see Hop, in 
Chapter V. 

505. HOUSE-LEEK, mountain. — Lat. Sempervivum. A hardy 
perennial from Switzerland. Five or eight inches high, and blows 
a purple flower in June and July. Propagated by its suckers. As 
it grows naturally in dry and rocky places, and on the tops of 
houses, it is necessary, when planting it in pots, to put at the 
bottom a good deal of dry rubbish and old plaster. 

506. HYACINTH. — Lat. Hyacinthus Orientalis. There are 
now two thousand varieties of this beautiful bulb distinguished by 
the Dutch florists. It was originally from the Levant, but, by the 
care and cultivation bestowed on it by the florists of Haarlem, and 
other places of Hofland, the oriental plant is infinitely surpassed 
by those of the north. To procure fresh varieties, it is necessary 
to sow the seed ; and to propagate from roots already produced, 
you take the ofl*sets and bring these forward to flower ; but of 
the sowing I shall speak fully at the end of this article. I will 
now relate how to proceed with bulbs already obtained and old 
enough to flower. Begin by marking out the sized bed that you 
wish to have, placing stoutish pegs at each corner, and in two or 
three places along the sides and ends ; dig out the earth to twelve 
inches deep, then put in one of the three composts that I shall 
enumerate below, enough to fill the square up to within two inches 
of the rest of the ground ; make the surface as even as a die ; 
mark out with a small line a set of lines lengthways of your bed 
and not more than six inches apart ; do the same then across the 
bed, observing to let the lines be at the same distance from one 



288 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[CHAF. 



another as the last are ; then plant a bulb at every place where 
the Imes intersect each other, taking especial care to let the top 
of the bulb be even with the earth, and order them so as to have 
no two of the same colour coming next one another. Then bring 
more compost, and fill up the two inches that you have yet to 
make good to bring the bed up to be even with the rest of the 
ground ; and go on filling till you have brought it to be two 
inches ahove the rest of the ground. But, I should here observe 
that, as this ground Avill settle down, and perhaps bury the bulbs 
too deep, it is proper to dig out the bed and put in the mould 
in which the bulbs are set, a week or ten days previous to set- 
ting them ; and this gives time for that settling which always 
takes place. Do nothing after you have planted (except rake a 
little now-and-then) till winter, and then, when you expect frosts 
such as would penetrate two or three inches, or so, bring forth 
your straw, or whatever else you have, and cover over the whole 
bed effectually, excepting at times when you are pretty certain of 
no frost. When the season for frosts is over, of course you 
remove all paraphernalia for guarding against that element ; but 
you then have others : cold winds, snows, and even, quickly after 
these, the sun itself. Therefore, as soon as you have removed 
the straw, place hoops across the bed, or a frame of wood con- 
sisting of upright stakes driven into the ground, with bending 
cross-pieces going over from one to the other, in the fashion of a 
bedstead ; and on these throw^ canvass, or other light stuff, when 
either cold winds or snows prevail, or (when the plants are in blos- 
som) when the sun shines out too much on them. The flowers 
will appear in March and April, and, though the plant is hardy, 
and even its flowers care not for snow or frost, yet, if you permit 
the sun to come and thaw this on them, they will not last half 
the time that they would otherwise do. When the plants are in 
blossom, such as have not strong stalks should have small sticks 
put in on the side of ihem, to which these stalks should be tied. 
Such plants as are destined to bear seed, should be left to have the 
full influence of the sun, and should remain in the bed till the 
seed-pod turns quite yellow, and begins to split ; but those that 
are not to bear seed should be taken up as soon as their leaves 
turn }ellow. Choose a dry day, and take them up cautiously, so 
as not to damage their offsets ; then lay them pretty close to one 
another, on the bed, and cover them over with earth to an inch 



vu.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



289 



thick^ and in a fortnight they will be in a fit state to be cleared 
of dirt^ dead leaves and offsets, and to be put by in a dry but airy 
place, where they remain till the autumn. The composts used in 
flowering bulbous roots are, either, 1, One half heMth-mould, a 
fourth part river sand, and a fourth part well-rotted cow-dung ; 
or, 2, Two thirds sand, and one third well-consumed leaves ; or, 3, 
One third river sand, one third fresh earth, one fourth rotten 
cow-dung, and the rest leaf-mould. These must be prepared a 
twelvemonth before they are used; kept in the air, and frequently 
turned, or it is impossible that the different materials should be 
properly incorporated one with the other. To procure fresh varie- 
ties, sow well-ripened seed from a strong, handsome, and semi- 
double plant. Choose a well-protected place, make a nice bed of 
good compost, and sow in drills five inches apart, in the month of 
September. In the severe frosts, cover over the young plants, 
and keep grass and weeds from growing amongst them. Cover 
with clean straw, or thatch. When, in the following summer, the 
plants die down, hoe between them and give them an inch or so 
thick of covering of your compost ; and protect them again the 
next winter. Same treatment for the following summer, and 
then, in the fourth, they may be taken up and treated as plants 
for flowering. — In water-glasses, the hyacinth makes a very agree- 
able show in the house during the most dismal part of the winter. 
Get blue glasses, as more congenial to the roots than white ones^ 
fill them mth rain water, with a few grains of salt in each, and 
put in enough water to come up to the bulb about the fourth part of 
an inch. Change the water carefully every week, and place the 
plants in the lightest and most airy part of the room, or green- 
house, in which you keep them. Plant hyacinths in the flower- 
borders in the manner directed for tulips. 

506. HEPATICA, anemone, or noble liver-wort. — Lat. Ane- 
mone hepatica. A perennial plant, which is found in great abun- 
dance near Castelane and De Grasse, and in shady places in the 
southern provinces of France. The flower is blue, violet, red, or 
white, and appears in February and March, and, sometimes, in 
January. Propagated by dividing the roots and by sowing the 
seeds. It likes earth that is light, rich, and warm, and rather 
dry than moist. 

507. IPOMEA, scarlet-flowered. — Lat. Ipomea coccinea. A 
West India plant ; annual, and a climber. It grows to the height 

u 



290 SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. [CHAP. 



of seven or eight feet, and in July, and on to September, blows a 
beautiful little bell-shaped scarlet flower. Give it a good, but 
rather light, soil ; and propagate by sowing in pots in a hot-bed, 
not many seeds in a pot, so that each plant may be taken out 
with a ball of earth to its roots. It is considered a green-house 
plant; but, if brought on in a hot-bed of moderate heat, and 
planted out near the end of May in a good situation, will do 
very Avell in the open air in England. 

508. IXIA. — Lat. Ixia hulhocodium. A fi'ame plant of Nar- 
bonne and the Island of Corsica; a small bulbous root, and blows 
a violet, purple, or white flower, in March and April. Propagated 

from offsets. Bending-stalked. — Lat. I. flexuosa. Pretty 

bunch of flowers, purplish, ^vith a deep purple spot at the 
base. Flowers in April and May ; growing ten inches high. 
Very slender stalk. The Ixias and the Gladiolas are beautiful 
bulbous plants of elegant size and shape, and blowing most beau- 
tiful flowers from May to July. They are generally cultivated in 
stoves ; but they may be made to grow and flower very well also 
in the open air, if carefully treated. Plant them in pots with a 
couple of handfuls of sand at the bottom, the rest of the pot 
being filled up with bog earth ; the pots should be kept out of the 
reach of frost, and in as warm a situation as is convenient. The 
proper time to take up these bulbs is when the leaves are diying 
up ; but sometimes they are left in the ground two or three years 
to suffer the offsets to enlarge, and then these are planted out to 
be fit for blowers, which will be the second year after being 
parted. 

509. IRIS, small bulbous. — Lat. Iris xiphium. A bulbous 
plant from Portugal, which blows in June ; its flowers are blue, 
violet, yellow, or luhite. It hkes a light but rich soil, and requires 

to be moved and its roots separated eveiy three years. Iris, 

yelloiu. — Lat. Iris psuedoacorus. Common in England at 
the sides of marshy places, growing at the edge of the water, 
and blowing in J une ; I never observed these but where the 
land was stiff clay. Very handsome plant, rising two feet or 
more in height, and proper for the sides of ponds, or ri\Tilets, in 
gardens or pleasure-grounds. Move them in August or Sep- 
tember. Iris, Persian. — Lat. Iris Persica. A httle bulbous 

plant of great dehcacy ; grows seven or eight inches high, and 
blows a pretty, regularly-formed, and singularly sweet-scented 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



291 



flower^ in March and April. If in the open ground, protect it a 
little during severe frosts by a covering of litter ; but its chief use 
is as a potted plant to bring into the house. Plant the bulbs in 
the month of October, in pots filled with a mixture of one half 
sand and one half fine mould ; or put some in water-glasses, and 
treat them as directed for hyacinths.-- — Iris, dwarf. — Lat. Iris 
Pumila. This plant comes from high and open situations of 
Hungary ; is very hardy, and blows in our borders in April. It 
is a very ornamental plant when in clusters, and is easily propa- 
gated by parting its roots, which are bulbous. Do this in 

autumn. Not more than three inches high. Parti-coloured 

Iris. — Lat. /. versicolor. Has a perennial root, and will thrive 
in almost any soil or situation, may be increased by parting the 
roots in autumn. Its stalk is unusually crooked and elbowed, by 

which it is known. Flowers in June. Iris, Siberian. — Lat. 

Iris Siberica. Known by the superior height of its stem and the 
narrowness of its leaves. The falhng petals are striped, or tinged 
with blue, and the upright ones dark purple. Hardy ; thrives in 
any soil and situation, but particularly in a moist one. Flowers 

in June. Iris, Chalcedonian. — Lat. Iris susiana. From the 

Levant. That large and handsome plant so common in our gardens, 
flowering so abundantly in June, and having varieties of deep blue, 
pale blue, and white tinged with blue. It grows to about the same 
height as the marsh iris, mentioned above, is tuberous-rooted, 
should have good garden soil to grow in, and should be removed 
every three years. It is, hke most of the others, quite hardy, and 
makes an elegant show in the gardens while in flower. This last 
is the Fleur-de-lis, which figures in the arms of France ; corrupted 
by us to Floioer-de-luce, which name it bears commonly in some 

counties of England to this day. lms,tall. — Lat. /. ochroleuca. 

This is in colour very like the Iris pseudoacorus, but is taller; it 
is of a yellow white. Flowers in June, liking moist rich soil, 
and increasing fast. 

510. LARKSPUR, the dwarf. — Lat. Delphinum. A hardy 
annual from Switzerland. Sow where it is to blow, either in beds, 
in tufts, or in rows ; it looks best in the latter way, and, as it 
grows not higher than from twelve to eighteen inches in height, 
its brilhant colours of deep and light blue, pink, and white, make 
a great show in the front of the flower-border. To have a succes- 
sion throughout the summer, sow every fortnight or three weeks, 

u 2 



292 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOY\'ER-G ARDENS. 



[chap. 



fi'om the time of beginning your spring sowings, till the beginning 

of June. Larkspur, ^aZZ. — Lat. Delphinum elatum. Also a 

hardy annual from the mountains of Switzerland and the Alps. 
Grows fr'om fom' to five feet high, and blows a hght blue, or deep 
blue, flower in August. Propagate by sowing the seeds, either in 
the spring or autumn. Not so handsome a plant as the last, by 

a good deal. Perennial Larkspur. — Lat. T) . grandiflorunu 

A perennial Larkspm-, the leaves resembhng those of the common 
annual, but the flower being much larger, tinged with crimson, 
double, and frequently coming a purpHsh white. It should be 
sowed in the early part of Apiil, and will t^en flower in July and 
August. It grows about eighteen inches high, and is propagated 
by seeds sowed in the open ground, or by parting the roots in 
autumn. A hardy plant. 

511. LACHENALIA, three-colour ed.~l^2.t. L. tricolor, A 
bulb, four inches high, blows a spike of pendulous flowers in 
spring ; is called tricolor, because at first flowering it has the 
three colom-s, red, orange, and green, mixed in it. Green- 
house ; propagated by offsets from the bulbs. 

512. LAVATERA, common, — Lat. L. trimestris. A hardy annual 
plant of the south of Europe, three or four feet high, and blows a 
pink or white flower from July to September. Propagated by 
sowing in the open eaith. Its flower is, of itself, very handsome, 
and it would be a most show^^ border-flower, but for the great 
iiTegulaiity and the rambling disposition of the branches, which 
are numerous, and placed wide of one another. It flowers abun- 
dantly, is very hardy, continues a long while in blossom, and 
ripens its seed in abundance ; and the richer the soil, the finer 
the plant. Sow early in the spring where the plant is to remain. 

513. LEOPARDS-BANE. — Lat. Doronicum 'pantagineum. 
A perennial plant from the south of Europe. It is about two feet 
high, and, in April, it blows a yellow flower. Propagated by 
cuttings and suckers. The autumn is the time for removing it. 

514. LICHNIDEA. — Lat. Phlox divaricata. Flower con- 
sisting of five pale purple petals, and these flowers coming in 
bunches in May. One foot high. Fit for rock-work ; propa- 
gated by cuttings or layers. 

515. LILY, the copp er- coloured day . — Lat. Hemerocallis fidva. 
A hardy bulbous-rooted plant, and a native of the Levant. Blows, 
in July and August, a reddish yellow flower. Any soil suits it; 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOV.'ERS. 



293 



but most of all a light loam. Propagated by separating the roots 
when the leaves dry up ; but should be replanted again directly. 

LiLY;, scarlet martagon. — Lat. L. Chalcedonium. A hardy 

bulbous-rooted plant from the Levant ; it grows three or four 
feet high^ and blows a bright scarlet flower in June and July. 
Propagated from offsets taken soon after flowering, which should 
be planted again shortly. They hke a good soil and good situation. 
Lily, purple martagon. — Lat. L. martagon. A hardy per- 
ennial plant of Germany, which grows three or fom* feet high, 
and blows, in July, a flower which is reddish or white, spotted 
with pm-ple or blackish spots. Often called the Turk^s cap. 

Cultivated like the scarlet. Lily, common white. — Lat. L. 

candidum. This is sometimes called the lily of France, fi-om the 
chcumstance of its being greatly used in France on festival days 
and in processions ; but this is only because of its being a hand- 
some and purely lohite flower, corresponding ^ith the national 
colom*. It grows three or four feet high, sending up a straight 
stalk, garnished all the way up by naiTow" leaves, and terminated 
by several lai'ge white flowers hanging in clusters, and which 
appear in July. It is hardy, cares httle as to what soil or 
situation is given to it, and multiphes rapidly by an increase of its 
large scaly bulbous roots, which should be sepai-ated every two or 
thi'ee years, and planted again directly. If not thus often separated, 
the offsets become so numerous that, each sending up their stalk, 
the plant is over-large and unsightly. It is always handsome^ 
however, in shrubberies, and is also handsome in the back pai't of 
borders or in the middle of beds, when parted often, as re- 
commended above. Superb Martagon. — Lat. L. superhum. 

A most beautiful plant, sending up stallcs eight or ten feet high, 
and blowing a great many flowers of bright reddish orange, spotted 
with \iolet. This plant requires bog soil ; and it wiU then stand 
om' winters pretty weU. It should be taken up every three or 

four years to separate the offsets, by which it is propagated. 

TuRK^s Turban. — Lat. L. pomponium. Bulb growing two feet 
high, leaves a whitish green, and blowing in June a very pretty 
pendulous flower, the pomts of the petals tmiiing up, so as to 
form a turhan shape. The best time for moving these is when 
the stalks begin to die doT\Ti, and, then, after separating their 
offsets, they should be planted again as soon as is convenient, for 
they do not like being kept out of ground. Lily Orange. — 



294 SHRUBBERIES AXD FLOWER-GARDENS. [CKAP. 

Lat. Liliuin hulhiferum. Native of Austria and some parts of 
Italy. Large flower with upright petals, colour of deep orange, 
blowing in June and July. Grows about two feet high, and is 
veiy ornamental in the borders. They propagate very fast by 
offsets, and should be parted once every two or three years, which 
may be done from the time of the stalks decaying till November. 
— — -Lily, white water. — Lat. Nymphea alba. A hardy perennial 
water-plant, common in England ; growing in muddy ponds, but 
never, as far as I have observed it, coming spontaneously in any 
but stiff clay soils. I never saw it so generally as in Lancashire, 
in the neighbourhood of Preston, where there is scarcely a httle 
pond that is not covered over in the month of June with this very- 
beautiful large flower. In garden ponds it is common to see 
them, and a great ornament they are to such places ; but they 
must be procured first, and planted next : two operations of a 
most difficult nature ; for you have to dig up the root from the 
bottom of a pond, perhaps two or three feet deep, and then you 
have to plant it under a similar difficulty. To dig it up you 
must actually go into the pond, feel for the stem of the plant, 
pursue it mth your hand to the ground, and then dig up as good 
a ball as you can round the roots. Suffer it to remain out of water 
as short a time as possible. Some recommend the placing it in a 
vase, and sinking that to the bottom of your pond ; but I think 
a better way is to place your plant in an old fish-basket, fiill of 
suitable mould, and sink that : if you can, sinking it a httle way 
into the earth at the bottom of the pond, as weU as sinking it 
to the bottom of the water. In this way the plant is not ne- 
cessarily confined to so small a space as in the vase ; for when 
its roots have extended to the edge of the basket, there ^^ill 
be room for them to go through, and, as the basket rots 

away, the plant becomes fixed in the bed of the pond. 

Lily, yellow water. — Lat. N. lutea. Like the former in all 
respects, excepting that it bears a yellow flower, which is rather 
smaller than that of the white. Cultivate in just the same 
manner. 

516. LILY OF THE VALLEY.— See Solomon^s Seal. 

517. LOBELI A,ac7'zc?. — Lat. L. urens. Ahardy perennial plant 
of England, about one foot high, and blows a blue flower in July 
and August. Propagated by sowing in a good earth, rather con- 
sistent than light, and should be watered often. Lobelia, or 



vn.] 



LIST OF FLOWEiiS. 



295 



cardinal's flower. — Lat. Z. cardinalis. A very handsome peren- 
nial plant from Virginia. It blows a most beautiful rich scarlet 
flower in July and October^ and rises to two or three feet high. 
It thrives best planted out in summer in a rich friable soil : but 
is tender enough to require some protection in winter. It is 
easily increased by suckers or by seeds ; and the suckers of the 
old plant should be taken off every autumn^ or they damage it. 

518. LONDON PRIDE.— See Saxifrage. 

519. LOOSE-STRIFE^ yeZ/oii?. Lat. Lysimachia vulgaris. A 
hardy perennial plant^ common in Europe, which grows about 
two feet high, and blows a yeUow flower in July, August, and Sep- 
tember. Propagated easily by suckers or shoots, and hkes moist soil. . 

520. LUNGWORT. — Lat. Pulmo)iaria Virginica. Hanging 
bunches of deep blue flowers ; leaves and stalks glaucus ; hardy 
perennial; blows in April and May, and grows two feet high. 
Propagated by parting the roots in autumn. 

521. LUPINE, dwarf. — Lat. Lupinus varius. A hardy annual 
plant from Narbonne and Montpeher, which grows fifteen or 
eighteen inches high, and blows a blue or red flower in July and 

August. Lupine, common yellow. — Lat. L. luteus. Nearly 

resembhng the last, only that it blow^s a yehow flower in June, 

July, and August. Lupine, blue. — Lat. L. Jiirsutus. Grov/s 

taller than either of the others. There is a rose-coloured variety. 
In other respects resembhng the yelloAV. All of them are proper 
border-flowers, and make a pretty show. Require no uncommon 

care : and should be sown where they are to h\ow. Lupine, 

perennial. — Lat. L. polyp Mlliis. A North American plant, and 
new to this country. It is hardy, is very much Mke the common 
blue Lupine, but is a handsomer plant, and blows a spike of 
blue or white flowers precisely hke the Lupine, only that the 
flowers stand thicker on the stalk, and the whole spike of flowers, 
instead of being not more than four or five inches long, is from a 
foot to a foot and a half long. A very beautiful plant. It blow^s 
in May and June, and is propagated by sowing the seeds, which 
come up freely under a hand-glass on a little heat; and the 
plants blow the second year. 

522. LYCHNIS, scarlet. — Lat. Lychnis Ckalcedonica. A 
hardy perennial plant fi^om the south of Russia, three feet high, 
and blowing a scarlet flower in July and August. Propagated by 
parting the roots. They like a good light soil, rather moist than 



296 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. [CHAP. 



dry. Lychnis^ red-flowered. — Lat. L. dioica. A hardy per- 
ennial plants common in Europe^ which is two or three feet high, 
and blows a red flower in June and July. Propagated like the 
scarlet. The fonner of these plants is a very handsome ornament 
of either the border or the shrubbery. All the species are hand- 
some^ but particularly this. It should be parted early in the 
spring ; and, by rights, ought to be covered with litter during 
the winter, for severe frost will injure it. 

523. MAD-WORT, the rock. — See Alyssum. 

524. MARSH-TREFOIL, common buck bean. — Lat. Ifen- 
yanthes trifoliata. A hardy aquatic plant, common in some 
parts of Europe, is a creeper, and blows a reddish flower in 
May, June, and July. It has a pretty effect on the borders of 
ponds, where it will multiply itself. 

525. MARVEL OF PERU.— Lat. MiraUlis Jalappa. Large 
bushy plant, with a rough, black root, growing forked or long, ac- 
cording as the soil is rich and deeply-moved. This root will, in very 
rich gardens, deeply trenched, get to the size of a very large parsnip 
in the first year, and, by keeping it in sand in winter, housed, it 
may be made a perennial, which it is not in our gardens, unless 
thus carefully managed. The stalks rise (with good digging and 
good manuring) to near four feet high, becoming a very branching 
and large plant. The colours are red, yellow and white, with 
mixtures, red and yellow, red and white, yellow and white ; and 
there are some purple sorts. The striped sorts are most 
esteemed, and, therefore, the gardeners are careful to save seed 
from none but such plants as have yielded mixed flowers. This 
is taste, however, and, as long as tastes differ, it is proper to have 
all the sorts that can be procured. The yellow makes the greatest 
show. The flower is borne at the end of every shoot ; and the 
blowing begins in the first week in July, and continues until the 
frosts set in. The only reason for the most fastidious to quarrel 
with this plant is that it blows but little in the heat of the sun, 
reserving all its beauties for those who rise early enough to see 
them at from five to seven o'clock in the morning. It is properly a 
hardy annual, though, as said above, may be rendered perennial, 
and may be sown in the open air as soon as all chance of injury 
to the young plants by frost is over. April is the best time for 
sowing. One plant is enough in a spot, and that not near to any 
minor plant or shrub, as it effectually sucks all moisture from it 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



297 



and by its spreading branches^ overlays it. The seed is a black 
fleshy substance coming in a little cup that the flower falls out of 
when overblown. In pots it makes a pretty show, but it requires 
so much more sustenance than is to be contained in a small 
vessel of this kind, that, even in the largest, it will not blow such 
large flowers as the plants in the open air ; and unless the flower 
be a very large one, that is, about the size of a half-crown, it is a 
pitiful, mean-looking thing, whereas, in full vigour, and size, 
nothing is more showy at a distance, or more dehcate Avhen mi- 
nutely examined, than the flow^er of this plant. It is a native of 
the West Indies. 

526. MARIGOLD, common. — Lat. Calendula officinalis, A 
hardy perennial plant, common in many parts of Europe, two feet 
high, and blows a light yellow flower in June, July, and August. 
Marigold, Small Cape. — Lat. Plurialis. A hardy annual plant, 
originally from the Cape of Good Hope, one or two feet high, 
blows a white flower in June, July, and August. Propagated by 
seed sown where they are to grow. Likes a light soil and sunny 
situation. — Marigold, ^/Hc«w. — Lat. Fagetes patula. A hardy 
annual plant of Mexico, which blows a reddish yellow flower from 
July to October. Propagated by sowing in a hot-bed, or in open 
earth, if it be good and exposed to the sun, and there is no longer 
fear of frosts. The plants must be planted in pots, and afterwards 
in the open earth, taking care to water them frequently when 
newly planted. They grow to two feet high, and often higher^ 
and should be kept tied to sticks or they will fall about and look 
ugly. It is rather a staring flower when in blossom, and much 
more fit for the front of shrubberies, and the edges of lawns^ 
than for borders. It is not particular as to soil. ^ 

527. MASTER-WORT, Great black.— Lat. Astrantia Major, 
A plant of which the root is perennial, from the mountains of 
Voges and the Pyrenees. It is two feet high, and its flower is of 
a radiated reddish or w^hitish colour, and blows from June to 
September. Any soil and any situation, except shade, will do for 
it. Propagated by sowing the seed or by dividing the roots in 
the autumn, and it often sows itself. It is a hardy plant. 

. 528. MESEMBRYANTHEMUM. Lat. M. tricolor^ There 
are nearly two hundred sorts of this plant, many of them very 
handsome and deserving of cultivation. They are nearly all 
fleshy-leaved, and, therefore, like all the kind, require but Httle 



298 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GADENS. [CIIAP. 



water till they begin to put forth shoots for flowering, and a very 
poor sandy or gravelly soil. This one grows very near the ground 
and, from July to November, blows elegant flowers, white at the 
base, and of a fine rose colour towards the upper part of the 
petals. There is also the Violet-coloured, Lat. M. viGlaceum ; 
the Two-coloured, Lat. M, hicolor ; the Showy, Lat. M. 
spectabile ; and many other equally worthy of a place in the green- 
house, for it does require a green-house to keep them in. Propagate 
these plants, by taking off small bits of their shoots, which after 
remaining a few hours to suffer the wound to dry, should be planted 
under a hand-glass in sandy loam. They will take immediately. 

529. MIGNONETTE.— Lat. Reseda odorata. An Egyptian 
plant, which is perennial in its native country, but which with us 
is no more than an exceedingly sweet-scented annual. It should 
be sowed thinly, and two or three plants are enough in one place. 
Being kept in a green-house, it may be made to hve through two 
or three winters, when it becomes woody, and resembles the form 
and size that it attains in its native country. Propagated by 
seed, which it ripens abundantly in almost any situation, and it 
blows aU through the summer, a httle flower of greenish hue. 

530. MICHAELMiVS DiVISY. — Lat. Aster tradescanti. A 
very late, very hardy, and very showy perennial plant, hking moist 
situations best, growing to between two and three feet high, and 
bearing an immense number of blossoms in September, October, 
and November, something lilce the common daisy, only larger. 
Propagated by sowing the seed, or, more easily, by parting the 

roots in spring. The Showy. — Lat. A. spectabilis. Grows 

two feet high, blows a ver}^ pretty blue flower resembling the 

forementioned in form and stature. Makes a very pretty show. 

Catesby^s. — Lat. A grandiflorus. Grows two feet high, blows, 
in October and November, a handsome yeUow flower, smelhng of 
citron ; the flower being larger than those of the two former. 
They all like the same sort of soil. 

531. MONKEY-FLOWER.— Lat. ilfmwZw5 luteus, Avery 
pretty little hardy perennial, not difficult as to situation, but very 
fond of moist soil and situation. Propagated by cuttings put under 
a hand-glass which striivc soon. Grows eight inches to a foot high. 
— M. rose-coloured, — Lat. M, roseus. Another variety, not quite 
so showy as the last, but very pretty, and to be treated in the same 
way. There is also the Musk-monhey -flower, a very small variety 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



299 



with downy leaves, the attraction of which is that it is a perfect 
bouquet of musk. Treatment the same as for the others. 

532. MONARDA, Oswego tea, — Lat. M. didyma. A hardy 
perennial from North America, growing two feet high, and blow- 
ing a crimson flower in June, July, and August. Propagated from 
suckers, or by sowing the seed in a hot-bed in the spring, and 
planting out the young plants when they are five or six inches high» 
They like a soil hght, warm, and rich, and should be moved every 

two or three years. M. Canadian. — Lat. M. Jistulosa. A hardy 

perennial of Canada, three or four feet high, blowing a pale purple 
flower in July and August. Propagated like the Oswego tea. 

533. MONSONIA, large-flowered,- — Lat. Monsonia speciosa, 
A handsome flower ; single, opening wide, and of a light pink. 
Bears great affinity to the geranium in habit and character. 
Hardy green-house plant, or, may be sheltered under frame in 
\^inter. Propagate by cuttings plunged in tan-pit in pots. Never 
ripens seed mth us. Perennial, grows eight or ten inches high, 
and blows in April and May. 

534. MULLEIN, white. — Lat. Verhascum lychnitis. A hardy 
annual plant, common in Europe, gro\Adng three or four feet high, 
and blowing a white or yellow flower in June, July, and August. 
Propagated by sowing the seed as soon as ripe, and does best in 

a light, diy, and sandy soil. It often sows itself. Mullein^ 

rusty.— See Blattaria. 

535. NARCISSUS. — Fr. JVarcisse. There are many sorts of 
narcissus, of which our common daffodil is one, and I beheve 
the only one that is not a native of the south of Europe. I shall 
enumerate only three sorts, and shall give instructions relative to 
the procuring of these by offsets, and relative to the blowing 
of them in beds, in pots and in glasses. — The Paper w^hite. — 

Lat. N. papyraceus. The Jonquil. — Lat. N. Jonquilla. 

The Polyanthus Narcissus. — Lat. N. polyanthus. — These 
are aU beautiful flowers, and ah sweet-scented ; but particularly 
the Jonquil. The first sort is reputed for its delicate and pure 
white. It grows to a foot and a half high, bearing two or 
three very handsome and paper- white flowers. The second 
for its peculiarly sw^eet scent, which is enough from only one 
plant, to perfume a whole room. It blows a yellow flower, 
proceeding from a slender and elegant stalls of from ten to 



300 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. [CHAP. 



twelve inches in height. The last sort^ of which there are three 
varieties^ the white, the white with yellow cup in the middle, and 
the all yelloio, for its abundance of flowers^ which are frequently 
ten or twelve in number upon each of two, three or four stems, 
according as the plant is a thriving and well-managed one. The 
first has a bulb about the size of a bantam hen^s egg, the second 
a bulb not bigger than a very small walnut, and the third a bulb 
larger than a tm^key^s egg. They are all to be had of the seeds- 
men, who import them yearly from Holland ; but they may be pro- 
pagated here ; or, at least, those who wish to go to the trouble of 
it, by parting the offsets fi'om the mother plants in July, and 
planting them in a bed by themselves for a year ; by themselves, 
because they do not flower the first year after being parted ; or 
they may also be had from the seed, by proceeding in the same 
manner as for the hyacinth. The most common way, however, is 
to buy of the seedsmen such bulbs as are wanted ; blow them the 
first year in pots or in glasses for the house, and, the next year, 
plant them out in the borders, or in beds by themselves ; this latter 
being the best v/ay, because then, by making use of the proper soil^ 
Avhich should be a good fight hazel mould, mixed with a fittle per- 
fectly rotten cow-dung, you presence yom- bulbs fi'om degenerating 
so fast as they will if tm-ned out into the borders. Take them up 
every third year, to take off the offsets, and bring these on in a bed 
composed of the same mixture as that recommended for the flower- 
ing bulb. In pots, use the same mixture, or put a httle sand with 
it ; and, in glasses, do the very same as for the Hyacinth. There 
are common varieties sold by the florists for the open borders, 
which manage as you do the tufip and other bulbs so planted. 

536. NASTURTIUM, the to//.— Lat. Tropceolum majus. A 
plant from Peru which may be trained to the height of ten or 
twelve feet, and blows an orange-colom'ed flower during the sum- 
mer and part of the autumn. The single-flowered sort is annuab 
and being sowed in the spring, in a fight soil and exposed to the 
sun, wifi afterwards sow itself. The double-flowered is perennial, 
propagated by cuttings, and kept in a house. In the mnter exposed 
to the sun as much as possible, and watered but little. There is a 
dwarf kind which makes a pretty show in the front part of borders 

or in pots. The Small-flowered, or Indian Cress. — Lat. T 

minus. Should be sowed in a hot-bed early in spring in order to 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



801 



have forward plants. It is very much like the former^ not so 
rampant^ and has a purple spot in the inside of the flower. In 
all else, hkes the same treatment as the former. 

537. NETTLE, the red dead. — Lat. Galeopsis ladanum. An 
annual plant common in Europe, which grows one foot high, and 
blows a pretty pink flower from July to October. Propagated 
by sowing the seed in any soil. A very handsome plant. 

538. CENOTHERA,^re«^/ozi7ere6?.— Lat. ffi;.^r«?Z(ii/?ora. A 
biennial plant originally from Virginia. It is generally three or 
four feet high, and blows in July, August, and September, a beau- 
tifrd yellow flower. Any soil suits it, but it likes a moist one and a 
sunny situation. Propagated by sowing the seed in a bed, but it 

also sows itself. CE. evening-primrose. — Lat. (E. biennis. From 

North America 5 biennial ; blows a fine yellow flower from July 
to September. Likes a good garden mould, but is not very nice 
as to soil ; and it should be sown in the spring in the place where 

it is to blow the following year. CE. 'purple. — Lat. (E. purpurea. 

An American annual, growing eighteen inches or two feet high, 
and blowing, from June to August, abundance of purple flowers at 
the end of its numerous stalks. Sow in the open ground early 
in spring, in the place where it is to blow.— — CE. yellow. — 
Lat. (E. serotina. A hardy biennial plant, growing two feet 
high, and in July and August blowing a handsome yellow flower. 
CE. white. — Lat. CE. speciosa. Grows two feet high, is bien- 
nial, and blows a white flower 5 in other things resembling the 

two forementioned plants. CE. large-leaved. — Lat. (E. macro- 

carpa. A hardy, traihng, perennial sort of CEnothera, which 
blows in July and August enormous yellow flowers of four petals, 
and one of the flowers of which I have found to measure four 
inches across. CE. sweet. — Lat. CE. odorata. Grows two or 
three feet high, is perennial, and in July and August blows a yel- 
low sweet-smelling flower, rather smaller than that of the grandi- 

flora. CE. Lindleys. An annual plant, blowing in July and 

August a purple-striped flower. Grows from one foot to eighteen 
inches high, and the stalk and leaves are tinged deeply with a purple 
hue. This variety should be so^^ti in the open ground with the 
spring-souTi flowers. The others are propagated either by part- 
ing the roots in the autumn or by seed raised in a gentle hot-bed. 
All of them are handsome and ornamental flowers, and I think 
the macrocarpa one of the handsomest of border flowers ; but, as 



302 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[CKAP. 



it blows near the ground, it should have a place in the front part 
of the border. 

539. ONOSMA,/iGiry.— Lat. O. echioides. A hardy perennial 
plant fi'om the south of Europe, about a foot high, and blows a 
yellow flower in May. Propagated by seed sown in the open 
eai'th. Likes a diy soil ; and^. though hardy, hkes a httle cover- 
ing in veiy severe weather. 

540. ORPINE^ evergreen. — lu^i. Sedum anacampseros. Blows 
in July and August a tuft of light pink flowers. One of the suc- 
culent-leaved tribe : but quite hai'dy. thming well on rock-work 
and old walls. Propagate by cuttmgs or parting roots in autumn. 
Grows ten inches high. 

541. OX-EYE. the great. — Lat. Adonis verncdis. A shovry 
yellow broad flower opening full to the noon-day sun eai4y in 
spiing. Hai'dy. Propagate by parting roots or by seed. Grows 
four inches high. 

542. PALMA CHRIST!.— Lat. i?zcz/z?/.? comravnis. A tender 
biennial plant fi'om India, fi'om five to seven feet high. Blows in 
July and August. Propagated by seed sown in a hot-bed. When 
the plants are five or six inches high, they should be planted 
where they are to grow. This plant is annual in the open 
ground, but, when put into a green-house, it lasts fotu or iive 
years. 

543. VXS%X.orhearfs-ease. — Lat. Viola hispida. A hai'dy pe- 
rennial plant, veiy common in Em-ope, which blows a blue flower 

almost the whole of the year. Paxsy. — Lat. Viola grandiflora. 

A hardy perennial, common in most parts of Eiu^ope, eight or ten 
inches high, and blows, all the simimer, a yellow and xiolel tlower. 
These are propagated by seed, which ripens abimdantly. as well 
as by separating their roots. Likes rich earth and partial shade. 

544. PEA, the everlasting. — Lat. Lathyrus latif alius. A peren- 
nial plant from Provence. It is four or five feet high, and m July 
and August blows very beautiful bunches of rose-colomed tlowers. 
Sow in beds and transplant to where the plants are to blow, or 
sow where they are to remain, but take care to have sticks, or 

lattice-work high enough to train them upon. Pea, tJietuher- 

ous. — Lat. Z. tuherosus. A small crimson perennial pea, very 
troublesome to the husbandman of the south of France, and of 
Gennany, where it is what the birdseed is in England. It has 
creeping roots, knotty and tuberous, simikir in appearance to the 



vn.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



303 



everlasting pea^ but much smaller. Easily propagated from roots, 
but does not require seeds here. Is only proper for parts of the 
shrubbery, on account of its troublesome roots. Flowers from 

June to August, and grows two feet high. Sweet Pea. — Lat. 

L. odoratus. An annual plant from Sicily. About four or five 
feet high, and blows a rose-coloured flower of various hues in June, 
July, and August. Propagated by the seed sown where it is to 
remain. There is another everlasting pea, the grandiflora, which 
blows the largest flowers of any, and which is as handsome as 
any, excepting that its fohage is not so luxuriant. The crown 
pea, OY painted lady, is very luxuriant in its gro"v\~th, and, in rich 
soils, blows very handsome clusters of flowers of a pale blush 
colour. Propagate all these in the same manner. 

545. PENTSTEMON, narrow-leaved.— Lot, P. angustifolia. 
A pretty Httle hardy perennial, growing two feet high, and blow- 
ing a flower something like the foxglove in shape, but more deh- 
cate in colour, in September and October. Propagate by di^dding 
the roots in autumn. 

546. PETUNIA. — Lat. P. vyctaginiflora, A veiy handsome 
perennial plant, bearing abundance of beautiful white flowers from 
May till October. It is a veryfine border flower, but,in severe win- 
ters, must be covered. It does extremely well in pots, and some 
should, by aIlmeans,bepottedand housed eveiy autumn to redouble 
the chance of presenting the stock. Propagate by cuttings placed 
tinder a hand-glass, where they will soon strike ; or make it an 
annual by sowing seeds in the spring of the year. 

547. PHLOX, smooth, or bastard lychnis. — ILai.P.glaberrima. 
A hardy perennial plant, originally from North America. Grows 
about two feet high, and blows a pretty pm'ple flower in June, 
July, and August, Propagated by dividing the roots in the 
autumn and in February. 

548. PINK, Chiiia or Indian. — 'Lsit. JDianthiis Chinensis. A 
hardy biennial plant of China, one foot high, blowing a bright red 
flower in July. Propagated from seed, from layers, and by di^-iding 
the roots, which like a hght but good soil, dr}' rather than wet, and 
a sunny situation. It is generally cultivated in our gardens as an 
annual ; as it blows the first year, and will not survive the winter 
unless protected from frost. A very pretty border flower ; but 

should be grown in beds, or largish clumps. Pink, the garden. 

— Lat. D. hortensis. This is supposed to be a variety of the car- 



304 SHRUBBERIES AND FLOT\-ER-GARDEXS. [CHAP. 

nation. Its origin is common in England and all over Em^ope. 
There are many pretty varieties^ and these are on the increase 
every year in England^ the manufacturing people in the north 
bestowing vast pains in propagating and cultivating them. The 
plant is smaller in every particular than the carnation^ but is its 
miniature. There are varieties double and single^ red^ white, and 
laced. It grows in tufts and sends up many stalks, each bearing 
a flower; but these tufts should not be suffered to remain unparted 
more than one year. Propagate by layeis, pipings or seed, just 
as with the carnation, only that, the pink being much the hardier 
of the two, you need not bestow the same pains upon it that you 
must on the carnation. Pipings will strike in the open ground, 
^\dthout any hand-glass over them, but you are surer to succeed 
by using the glass, and in the manner directed for propagating 
carnations in the open ground. No plant of this kind should be 
suffered to blow more than twelve flowers. All above that num- 
ber should be cut off as they appear in the bud. Any soil almost 
suits it. — See Sweet-William. — Lat. D. Barhatus. 

549. POLYANTHUS.— Lat. Primula elatior. An indigenous 
plant which has been brought to great perfection by the florists. 
It blows in March and April, flowers of various colom's, red, brown, 
yellow, purple, and variegated; the flower stem should rise above 
the fohage, should be perfectly erect, and send out from five to 
seven small foot-stalks each to be terminated by a flower. Pro- 
pagate by seed, or by parting the roots, which latter should be 
done every year, or the plants are sure to dwindle away and ulti- 
mately die. The Polyanthus likes a shady situation, moist ground, 
and manuring of neats^ dung; but the soil mentioned under the 
head '^Auricula'' suits it well. It is well to have some always in 
pots the same as those for the Auricula, and by these means you 
procure an early show in the green-house, and can the more 
readily and surely save the seeds of such plants as you most ad- 
mire. In the seed-bed, you have only to follow the instructions 
given for the management of the Auricula bed. 

550. POPPY, red, or corn rose. — Lat. Papaver rhceas. A hardy 
annual plant about two feet high, and its flower red. Blows in J une 
and July, and is propagated by sowing the seed in a Hght and rich 

earth ; afterwards they sow themselves. Poppy, garden. Lat. 

P. somniferum. This sort grows larger than the last, has several 
varieties, double and single, of most colours excepting blue. It is 



VII.J 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



305 



easy to propagate from the seed, but, unless great variety be re- 
quired, hardly worthy of a place in the flower border. This sort 
it is that yields opium. Prefers good deep soil ; but they are not 

particular in this matter. Vov^y ylarge-fiowered prickly . Lat. — 

Argemone grandiflora. Hardy annual plant, growing from two 
to three feet high, and blowing, in July and August, a very large 
white flower of great beauty. The leaves of this plant are also 
ornamental, or, at least, very curious, being like that of thistle ia 
some respects. Propagate by seed sown in spring. 

551. PCEONY, hairy-leaved. — Lat. Pceonia hirsuta. Is a 
hardy perennial plant from the south of France, which blows a purple 
flower in June. V ce.oby , common red. — Lat. P. roseo officina- 
lis. A hardy perennial from Spain and the south of France, and 
blows early in the spring. Propagated by separating the roots in 
the autumn and the spring. Not particular as to soil or situa- 
tion. Two or three feet in height, and makes a very fine show 
when planted in borders bounded by green-sward. 

552. POTENTILLA.— Lat. P. napalensis. A very pretty 
little plant, with a trailing leaf and stalk ; blowing a peach- 
blossom flower in June, July, and August, grows six inches high. 
Perennial ; propagated by parting the roots in spring and autumn, 
and it is quite hardy. 

553. PRIMROSE. — Lat. Primula vulgaris. That very pretty 
early-flowering native plant which we find all over England by the 
sides of shady lanes, and in coppices of the winter-cutting, bearing 
numerous bright yellow flowers, each upon a foot stalk of two or 
three inches in length. By taking the pains, you may procure 
abundance of its seed, and propagate it as you would the Auri- 
cula, which see. Or you may transplant into your garden, at 
Michaelmas, any number of the plants, which will make a beauti- 
ful show in the early spring months. The situation and soil 
should be those for the Polyanthus ; that is, shady as to situation, 
and moist as to soil. 

554. RANUNCULUS. — Lat. R. Asiaticus. A native of the 
Levant. It is a tuberous-rooted plant, greatly ornamental, and deser- 
vedly a choice florist's flower. It blows early in the spring, flowers 
single, semi-double or double, and of almost every colour, but the 
scarlet, being the most admired, is the most usual. It is propa- 
gated either by offsets from the tubers, or by seed ; and both very 
much in the same way as in the case of the anemone. By seed 

X 



306 SHKUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. [CHAP. 

Sow in January, under a frame and light, but take care to have 
the earth, to a foot and a half deep, taken out previously and well 
frosted, and, when thawed again, put it back into the frame. 
This destroys all vermin. Make it fine, and sow your seeds in 
very shallow diills, four inches apart, covering the seed in the 
slightest possible manner. I should, perhaps, have first said that 
the seed should be saved from a semi-double plant, the stem of 
which is strong and high, the flowers large, thick and round, and 
of brilliant colour ; and also that it should be gathered in a dry 
time, scraped off from the stalk by patiently using your finger- 
nails for the work, and kept in a dry, though airy place, till the 
time for sowing. Let your seed-bed be in an eastern aspect, the 
one best suited to the ranunculus whether a seedling or a flower- 
ing plant ; water with a fine-rosed watering-pot, so as to keep up 
a continual moisture, and, when the plants are up, give plenty of 
air ; remove the light from the frame, and cover over with hurdles 
or a thick covering of netting. Do not move these young plants 
till their leaves are perfectly dead, and then do as with young 
anemones. By offsets. The time of planting out your old root 
is precisely that directed as the proper time for planting out the 
anemone ; and, it is at the time of planting that you part the 
offsets from the mother-roots. They are easily discerned, each 
complete root having a bud enveloped, as it were, in a greyish 
down ; the under part being composed of several dark-brown 
claws, for the most part tending inwards at their points. These 
look as if perfectly dead, but a few days under ground plumps 
them up to a considerable size ; and it is even, with some, the 
practice to put the roots into a basin of water a few hours pre- 
vious to planting them, a practice of very doubtful utility. The 
offsets that you take off are just as fit for blowers as the mother- 
roots ; they do not, like the hyacinth and tulip, require nursery 
beds to bring them into flowering in a course of years ; therefore 
there are no instructions necessary further as to the propagating 
by offsets. But as to general cultivation something must be said. 
The florists invariably plant them in beds in the manner described 
under the head Hyacinth^ except that they are not to be planted 
at any more or less than an inch and a half under ground ; but 
they flourish also either in clumps in the border, or in pots in the 
green-house. In either of these cases, the soil that the ranunculus 
likes is a good fresh, strong, rich loamy one ; or, if you prepare 



vn.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



307 



soil, let it be fresh loam with a manuring of well-rotted horse or 
cow-dimg. The scarlet-tiirhan is the most showy variety, and 
produces a most brilliant elfect in a bed ; and, when thus planted, 
it is well worth the while to take all the precautions necessary to 
bring forward the plants Vvcll through the winter, and to guard 
their blossoms against too much wet or sun in the spring. To 
do this, cover in winter, and shade and water in the spring, as 
you do in the hyacinth bed. When you plant in pots, take care 
that the pots be good deep ones ; sach as are used commonly for 
the auricula, drain them well with pot-sherds, but give frequent 
waterings in dry weather, or, in such small masses, the earth soon 
burns, and you lose your blossom-buds, if not the plant. About 
the end of June your plants will be dying down, and then is the 
time to take them up, cut oif the fibres of the roots and pull off 
the leaf-stalks ; and put away the roots, well freed from dirt. 
This root and the anemone take no harm from remaining twelve 
months out of ground. 

555. ROCKET, or dame's violet. — Lat. Hesperis matronalis. 
A biennial plant from Italy, which grows a foot and a half high, 
sending up many stalks crowned by double fragrant flowers. 
Varieties, red, purple, and white ; and blows from May to August. 
Propagated by parting the roots in autumn ; or by cuttings of the 
stalks of the flowers, which, being cut into convenient lengths, 
you make three splits in the end of each, of about half an inch 
up ; force the split end into the ground, and they will readily take 
root if you put a hand-glass over them, and place them where 
none but the morning sun can get to them. Better still to strike 
them under a propagation-glass in a gentle hot-bed. There are 
very few prettier^ and still fewer sweeter, flowers than the double 
rocket ; but it is said by theorists not to thrive near large cities. 
1 think that the smoke of London or Manchester is incompatible 
with the health of anything animal or vegetable ; but 1 do not 
think smoke prejudicial to this plant in particular, for I have seen 
it remarkably fine in the neighbourhood of London, but never have 
I seen it so fine as in the vicinity of the smoky towns of the north 
of England, where it grows most freely in a stiff mould. 

556. RING FLOWER. — Lat. Anacyclus valentinus. An 
annual plant from the south of France, about one foot high, and the 
flower of a yellow colour, which appears in June and July. It is 

X 2 



SOS 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



raised from seed sowed where it is to bloom, and does well in 
good earth that is warm and light. 

557. ROSE CAMPION, smooth-leaved. — Lat. Agrostemma 
ccelirosa. A hardy annual plant of the south of France, eight or 
nine inches high, and blows a pink flower in July and August. 

558. RUDBECKIA, the purple. — Lat. R. purpurea. Outer- 
most petals narrow, long, and pendulous, resembling narrow red 
tape. Native of the warm climate of Virginia ; but will do in an 
open border. It is well to shelter a plant or two in a hot-bed 
frame during winter, lest those that are left out should be killed. 
Flowers in July. Seeds do not ripen with us, so the only way to 
propagate is by parting roots. Leaf long, sawed at edge. Peren- 
nial, and grows three feet high. Rudbeckia, the hairy. — Lat- 

R. hirta. Large ridi single yellow flower. The plant grows two 
feet high, flowers in July and August. Hardy perennial, propa- 
gated by parting the roots in autumn. 

559. RUSH, the fioioering. — Lat. Butomus umhellatus. A 
perennial, found in the borders of rivers and in the marshes in 
England and other parts of Europe. Grows three feet high, blowing 
in July a bunch of pretty large red flowers. It is a handsome 
plant, and well suited to damp or swampy places, or to the sides 
of ponds or rivers. Propagated by dividing the roots. 

560. SAGE, smooth-leaved. — Lat. Salvia splendens. A beau- 
tiful pendulous scarlet flower, coming at the ends of the branches 
of a plant that is tolerably elegant of itself, and which will grow to 
the height of five or six feet. — S. cardinalis. A variety growing 
and blowing very much like the former ; indeed, in which there is 
no diflerence, excepting that the leaf of this one is thick and downy, 
iike that of the common sage of the gardens, and that the other 
has smooth dark-green shining leaves. Both are perennial, but 
both require shelter in the winter. These plants are exceedingly 
handsome, and ought to be had in every garden. Propagate hy 
parting the roots in spring or autumn. 

561. SAFFRON.— See Colchicum. 

562. SALVIA.— See Sage. 

563. SAND- WORT, majorca. — Lat. Arenaria halearica. A 
hardy perennial plant from Corsica, about two inches high and blows 
a white flower in May and June. Propagated by seed, or separat- 
ing the roots. Likes a sandy and warm soil^ and a southern aspect. 



V,,.] 



LIST OF FLOV. ERS. 



509 



564. SAXIFRAGE, the golden. — Lat. Chrysosplenium alter- 
nifolium. An inhabitant of France and many other parts of Europe. 
It is five or six inches high, and blows a yellow flower in April. 
Propagated by dividing the roots in October, and likes a shaded and 
moist situation, and is well suited to ornament the edges of Avater. 

A perennial plant. Saxifrage, thich-leaved. — Lat. Saxifraga 

crassifolia. A hardy perennial plant, originally from Siberia, which 

blow^s a pink flower in March and April. ^xkiyuag^, palmate. 

— Lat. S. palmata. A perennial plant common in France and 
England, blows a VNhite flower in April and May. A foot high. 

Saxifrage, hairy. — Lat, S. hirsuta. A perennial frame 

plant, about eight or ten inches high, blows a white flower spotted 
with red in May. From France and the Pyrenees. Propagated 
by separating the roots. Not particular as to soil, but likes a 
shady situation. — S. umbrosa. The little common plant called 
London pride, which grows much like the house-leek, but sends 
up slender stalks a foot high, with abundance of pretty little 
flowers at the summits. Quite hardy, and perennial. Propagate 
by parting the roots in spring or autumn, and plant in almost any 
soil. This plant is fit for any borders or any rock-work. 

5Q5. SCABIOUS, siceet. — Lat. Scabiosa atropurpiirea. A 
hardy biennial plant, originally from India. About two feet high, 
blow^s, in August and September, a deep violet-coloured flower. 

Scabious, devil' s-bit. — Lat. S. succisa. A hardy native 

perennial plant, which blows from August to September. Pro- 
pagated by seed sown in any border. Varieties, deep purple, 
flesh-coloured, and white. 

566. SCORZENERA, tangier. — Lat. S. tangitana, A larger 
and higher plant, with glaucus leaf ; but flower very much resem- 
bling our common dandelion, or rather marigold. Annual, hardy, 
likes a moderately dry soil. Sow with other annuals. 

067. SID A, broad-leaved. — Lat. S. abutilon. An annual stove 
plant from India. Four feet high, and blows a yellow flower in 
June, July, and August. Propagated by seed sowed in a hot-bed, 
and afterwards transplanting the young plants where they are to 
remain. 

068. SILPHIUIM, jagged-leaved. — Lat. S. laciniatum. A 
hardy perennial, three or four feet high, originally from North 
America, and blows a yellow flower in Ju'y, August, and Sep- 
tember. SiLPHiUM, three-leaved. — Lat. S. trifoliatum. A 



310 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap 



hardy perennial plant of North America, about eight feet high, and 
blows a yellow flower in August and September. Propagated 
by seed sown in the open earth, or by separating the roots in the 
autumn. 

569. SISYRINCHIUM.--Lat. S, iridoides. Blue flower 
with light yellow heart, leaves resembling the iris. Rather tender 
tuberous plant, blowing in the border from May to the end of July. 
Pretty in green-house. Propagate by seeds easily, or by parting 
bulbs in autumn. Same soil as for bulbs, and an eastern border. 

570. SNAP-DRAGON, common, — Lat. Antirrhinum majus. 
A perennial plant, common in uncultivated places, and on walls, 
in England. Blows in June, July, and August, its flowers are 

purple, red, or white. Snap-dragon, small. — Lat. A. oren- 

ticum. An annual plant, common in Europe, growing about a 
foot and a half high, and blowing a reddish, or white, flower, with 
spots of yellow, in July. Propagated by seed, sown in a border, 
and the plants afterwards planted, where they are to remain. Both 
of these are handsome border flowers, but the latter is rather too 
small to make any show. The former, on the contrary, is very 
showy, very hardy, and remains a long time in flower. Sowed on 
the tops of old buildings, old walls, or heaps of dry rubbish, it 
thrives almost as well, and blows quite as well, as in the best- 
prepared borders. 

571. SNOW-DROP. — Lat. Galanthus nivalis, A native bul- 
bous-rooted plant, which, in January and February, blows a white 
flower, and is seven or eight inches high. There is, also, a double 

sort. Snow-drop, summer. — Lat. Leucojum cestivum. A 

native plant, which blows a white flower in the beginning of 
summer. Bulbous, and propagated by oflsets. Likes a moist 
soil. Snow-flake. — Lat. Leucojum vernum. Difl'ers essen- 
tially from the Galanthus or Snow-drop, although they resemble 
one another. The Snow-flake does not increase so fast as the 
snow-drop, and is therefore scarcer. It does not flower so soon 
by a month as the snow-drop ; but its blossoms are much larger 
and more fragrant. Situation, a north-east border ; soil, mixture 
of loam and bog-earth. Propagate by offsets. Height seven 
inches. 

572. SOAPWORT, common. — Lat. Saponaria officinalis. A 
hardy perennial plant, about two feet high, and very common in 
England. Blows, in July, red or white flowers, and there are some 



V„.J 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



311 



double. Propagated by the runners. Likes any soil or situation. 

• SoAPWORT, hasil. — Lat. Saponaria Ochymoides. Blows in 

May and June a profusion of small pink flowers. Hardy, thrives 
on rock-work, on walls, or in borders ; grows two feet high ; is 
propagated by slips or cuttings. 

573. SOLOMON'S-SEAL,«?z^?Jar.— Lat. Convallariapoly- 
gonatum. A hardy perennial common in England and many parts 
of Europe, which blows a whitish flower in May and June, and 
rises to about eighteen inches high. Propagated by dividing the 
roots in the fall. Not particular as to soil, but it likes a shady situ- 
ation, and will even succeed under trees. Solomon^s-seal, oi- 

Lily of the Valley. — Lat. Convallaria majalis. Like the former, it 
will succeed under the drip of trees. A native perennial plant, 
wdth large oblong leaves rising from the root ; sending up a stalk 
eight inches high, which bears from six to twelve white pendent 
sweet smelling flowers in May and June. Propagated by dividing 
the roots in the fall. It likes a moist situation ; and will grow 
under the drip of high trees and underwood. 

574. SOLDANELLA, Alpine. — Lat. Soldanella. A peren- 
nial plant from Switzerland, three or four inches high, and blows, 
in March and April, a blue, reddish, or, sometimes, white little 
bell-shaped flower. Propagated by separating the roots. Likes 
good heath mould, with a fourth part of maiden earth. Should 
be protected from hard frosts. 

575. SPIDER-WORT, Virginian. --l^dit. Tradescantia Vir- 
giniana. A perennial plant, originally from Virginia. It is about 
a foot high, and blows, from June till October, a bluish violet- 
coloured flower. There are some, also, with white flowers. It 
flourishes in any soil or situation. Propagated by separating the 
roots in March and October. 

576. SQUILL, Italian.— ~Li2Lt. Scilla Italica. A hardy bul- 
bous-rooted plant, common about the environs of Nice. It is 
about eight or ten inches high, and blows a blue flower in March 
and April. Propagated by its ofl*sets. Likes fresh sandy earth, 
or a mixture of light soil and sea sand. 

577. STAR OF BETHLEHEM, yellow.—L2i\.. Ornitho- 
galum luteum. A bulbous-rooted plant, common in England, and 
blows a ye'low flower in March, and is three or four inches high. 
Propagated by separating the oflsets in the autumn. Likes rather 
moist earth and shaded situation. Star of Bethlehem, 



312 



SHRUBBERIES AND FI.OWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



spiked. — Lat. O. Pyrenaicum. A hardy perennial plant, originally 
from the Pyrenees, one or two feet high, and blows a yellow flower 

in May and June. Star of Bethlehem, common. — Lat. O. 

umhellatum. A hardy perennial plant of England, from six to 
nine inches high, and blow^s a white flower in May and June. 
Both sorts propagated by the offsets, taken from the plants in the 
autumn, and planted directly. 

578. STOCK, the Brompton. — Lat. Cheiranthus coccineus. 
The stock, if not a native of England, is completely naturalized, 
and has been cultivated here with greater success, perhaps, than in 
a^iy other country. There are four distinct sorts that I shall 
mention, because these are all of them most deserving of being 
cultivated in the flower-garden, where they produce show, odour, 
and durability, surpassed by none. The Brompton stock grows to 
about two feet high when flourishing, has long hoary leaves, 
narrow, and rather waved at the edges, and, above the foliage, 
there rises a stalk studded round thickly with scarlet double 
flowers each as large as a small rose, and which appear in May 
and June. This plant is a biennial, and should therefore be sown 
in the spring or summer, and treated accordingly ; but as it 
suffers from the frosts of winter, w-hen brought on too forward 
the first summer, it is best not to sow till the middle or latter 
end of June. Raise the plants in a frame, and keep them 
thinned out, in order that, though not large, w^hen winter comes 
on, they may still not be weak. Plant out the young plants in 
the fall, and, if the winter be very severe, and if you have the means 
of doing it, cover them with litter during such severity ; as, 
though frosts must be very hard indeed to kill them, yet a severe 
winter will spoil their blossom-buds and cause them to blow but 

little, and single.- Stock, Queens. — Lat. C. incanus. This is 

also a biennial; grows a foot or more high, producing white, red, 
or purple double flow^ers in May and June ; but these come on 
innumerable branches which this stock sends out from its main 
stalk on each side. Leaf like the former ; and it is cultivated 

like the former. Stock, ten-iceek. — Lat. C. annuus (or qua- 

rantain, forty-day), is a very handsome and sw^eet little annual 
plant, blowing from May to September or October. It grows 
from twelve to eighteen inches high, wath greyish coloured leaves, 
branches out a little, and, if from good seed, bears double flowers, 
red, white, or purple ; equal to either of the preceding in odour, 



vu.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



313 



and not far surpassed by either in appearance. Sow early in 
March, or in February, on a hot-bed and under a f; ame or hand- 
glass. Take care to keep the plants thinned out so as not to let 
them get weak, and give plenty of air, especially in the middle of 
the day. Early in April plant them out where they are to blow, 
and let this be in the front part of the flower-borders ; put in four 
or five plants in a clump, or more, so that, when you find their 
flower-buds appearing, you can pull up those plants that are 
showing for single flowers, except one, which you should always 
leave for seed. The red is by far the most showy variety. Sow 
again in May, and the plants of this sowing will, when planted 

out, keep up a succession of flowering till October. Stock, 

walUjiower leaved. — Lat. C. Graecus. Also an annual, rising 
to ten or twelve inches high, having leaves unlike all the 
former, of -a darkish shining green, and being perfectly smooth. 
Blows, in May and June, double or single flowers, white, red, or 
violet. To be treated like the ten-week stock. All these plants 
bear their seed on plants that blow single flowers, and, to make 
sure of saving seed that shall produce double flowers, the seed 
plant should stand amidst those that are blowing double. The 
double-flowering ones show themselves very early ; their buds are 
much larger and rounder than the single, and appear to be burst- 
ing when the single have no such appearance. Stock, the 

Indian. — Lat. C. maritimus. A very pretty little annual. Grows 
about eight inches high, and blows, in June and July, a very 
small but very showy little lilac, red, or white flower. This plant is 
of itself so small that it should stand in thick tufts, or thickly in 
a line ; and, when the flowers are going ofl', the tr/ps of the 
plants may be cut ofi* with a pair of shears, and will then sprout 
out again and blow afresh. The best way, however, is to sow for 
a succession ; beginning by a sowing in March, then sow again in 
April, May, and June, in the places where the plants are to stand 
and blow. A pretty little flower. 

579. STRAWBERRY-BLITE, slender -hranched. — Lat. 
Blitiwi virgatum. An annual plant of France and the greater 
part of Europe, which grow s one or two feet high, and blows 
from May to August. When once raised in a soil that it likes, it 
sows itself without further trouble. 

580. SUN-FLOWER.— Lat. Helienthus multifiora. A hardy 



314 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



perennial plant, originally from North America, about four feet 
high, and blows a yellow flower in July and August. Propagated 
by seed sowed in a border in July, and the young plants planted, 
when they are fit, in the places where they are to remain ; also by 

separating the roots in the autumn or spring. Sun-flower, 

annual. — Lat. H. annuus. An annual, which came originally 
from Peru ; grows from four to six feet high, having the coarsest 
stem, leaf, and flower of any cultivated plant. The flower is 
yellow, and appears in July and August. Is sometimes double, 
and is from six inches to a foot in diameter ; bears abundance of 
oily seed, which is much liked by poultry of every sort. Propa- 
gated by its seed, sowed early in the spring, and the plants when 
in their sixth leaf removed to where they are to blow. Fit for 
nothing but very extensive shrubberies. When seen from a dis- 
tance, the sight may endure it. 

o81. SWALLO W- WORT, /e^^-coZoz^rec?. —Lat. Asclepias 
incarnata. A hardy perennial. Woody thick branches, growing 
from three to four feet high, and blowing, in July and August, 
bunches of flesh-coloured flowers at their extremities. Propagate 
by dividing the roots in autumn. 

582. SWEET-WILLIAM.— Lat. Dianthus harhatus. This 
plant is too well known to need any particular description ; it is 
biennial or triennial, but is usually grown as a biennial, the seed 
being sown one year to blow the next. It is one of the most orna- 
mental plants of the garden, an oblong bed of sweet-williams being, 
to my eye, the most beautiful thing that one can behold of the 
flower kind. The varieties of colour are without end, and the 
stifl" stalk of the plant holds them up to view in so complete a 
manner that there is nothing left to wish for in this plant. The 
seed should be sown in an open bed in the spring and in rows, 
which should be kept hoed and weeded through the summer. In 
autumn plant them out where they are to blow, and do not put 
the plants nearer than within six inches of one another, either in 
beds or in clumps. If you wish to propagate a particular plant, 
you must do it by striking a cuttii»g from one of the flower- 
stalks ; but this should be before that stalk has flowered. Let 
there be two joints to the cutting ; and strike it under a hand- 
glass upon a little heat. 

583. THISTLE^ the globe, — Echinops ritro. A hardy peren- 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



nial of the south of Fjaiice, growing three or four feet in height, 
and blows a light blue flower in August. Propagated by sowing, 
or by separating the roots. i\ny soil suits it. 

584. THRIFT.— Lat. Statice Armeria. A native of the Alps ; 
the roots are perennial and fibrous : it rises three inches high, or 
more, and spreads very fast. The variety with a bright scarlet 
flower, which comes in May and lasts throughout the month of 
June, should find a place in small borders, but it should be regu- 
larly parted every year to prevent its spreading too widely. 

585. TIGER-FLOWER,— Lat. Tigridia pavonia. A very 
beautiful bulbous plant from Mexico. Grows from one to two 
feet high ; with narrow sword-shaped leaves, and a stalk longer 
than these, which, in the month of July, blows many flowers of a 
yellow or scarlet colour beautifully spotted with purple. The 
flowers never come out more than one or two at a time, and they 
last but six hours, when they drop, and are, the next day, suc- 
ceeded by others. This plant is not quite hardy ; therefore, the 
best way to cultivate it in the open ground is as you do your supe- 
rior hyacinths, taking it up when it leaves decay, and keeping it out 
of ground and in a dry place till spring, when you replant it in the 
bed or in the border. In pots, in the green-house, it does very 
well, but not better than in the open air when treated as above, and 
in a suitable soil ; namely, a fine and somewhat light and deep 
garden mould. Propagate by separating the ofl'sets from the 
mother bulbs, and treating them as you do tulips, 

586. TOAD-FLAX, ivy-leaved. — Lat. Linaria cymhalaria. 
A hardy annual plant, found on old walls ; which, hanging over 
the sides of a pot, will blow a pale purple flower during the whole 

of the summer. Propagated by seed. Toad-Flax, hlacJi- 

flowered, — Lat. Antirrhinum triste. Takes its name from the 
little gaiety of its colour, which, at a distance, is of a sombre 
brown. Prettier on close examination, green-house plant, but re- 
quires to be out of doors, excepting in frost. Flowers almost all 
the summer, and is propagated by cuttings, as it never ripens seed 
with us. 

587. TOBACCO.— Lat. Nicotiana Tahacum, This is a 
tender annual plant, and therefore requires to be sowed early in 
spring (beginning of March) in a hot-bed. Sow in broad-mouthed 
pots, and, as the seeds are remarkably small, cover over very 
slightly indeed, and, when you give water, take care that the pots 
are so shaded from mid-day sun as for the eai th not to be baked 



316 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



over the sprouting seeds, for this infallibly kills them. When the 
plants have five or six leaves, and, if the weather be fine, they 
should be put out, and the roots sunk deep enough in the ground 
to allow of their being firmly fastened there. A shady time is the 
best for this work ; or, if the weather be hot and dry, the plants 
should be covered in the sunniest part of the day, so as to keep the 
rays of the sun from broiling them up. A little covering at nights 
will also be expedient, as a sharp frost would destroy them all in 
one night. The plant grows from five to eight feet high, ac- 
cording as the soil is deep and rich. It Hkes a moist soil, but, by 
means of manure, may be made very fine in a shallow and dry 
one. The leaf is very large, and the flower, though small in 
proportion to the size of the plant, is a very pretty crimson, and 
makes a good show. So tall a plant should, of course, be placed 
in such a situation as not to hide smaller plants. — There is a 
yellow sort, not so tall, nor so handsome, but worth a place in the 
back of large borders, or in the front of shrubberies. 

588. TUBEROSE, common. — Lat. Polyanthes tuherosa A 
green-house perennial plant, about three feet high, and a native of 
the East Indies. Blows a white flower in August and September, 
and has a very powerful scent. Propagated by the offsets, which 
aie separated from the principal root every year, as it blows, gene- 
rally, but once. The offsets should be planted in a hot-bed, and they 
blow in about two years. Likes substantial, though light, earth. 
The bulbs of this plant are imported annually, by the florists and 
seedsmen, from Italy, as are those of the Amaryllis from Guernsey ; 
and it is better to buy these and only force them into flower by 
means of the stove, or hot-bed to begin with, and then the green- 
house, than to attempt to propagate them from offsets, which are 
long in coming to perfection. 

589. TULIP. — Lat. Tulipa sylvestris. This is the native tulip, 
but is so completely eclipsed by the eastern plant of the same name 
that it is scarcely known, though one variety, the double yellow, 
is a most desirable border flower, producing handsome large and 
very double flowers in May. It is multiplied by parting its oft- 
sets every year from the mother bulb, and likes a lightish soil. — 
Tulip, the florist's, — Lat. Tulipa Gesnariana. — From the Levant. 
A hardy bulb that has occupied the attention of florists more 
than any other plant. There are early-blowing and late-blowir.g 
varieties, the former appearing in Apri', and the latter in May and 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 317 

June ; and, as to colours, they match the rainbow. I will inention 
the names of two or three of the early and the double varieties. 
Early blowers, Due van Thol, Clarimond, Due van Orange. 
Double, Marriage de ma Fille, doichle red, double yellow. Of 
single late-blowers there are upwards of six hundred named 
varieties, so I give none of these. For borders, they are sold by 
the floiists at five shillings the hundred. All are propagated in 
the same way : by offsets or by seed ; but most commonly by 
offsets, because to do it by seed is expensive an;l most tedious, as 
the seedling plants do not come into flowering till the fifth or 
sixth year. Dy offsets : When you take out your old bulbs to 
plant, break off the largest offsets from the sides, and plant them 
at two or three inches apart in a bed of sandy loam with a sub- 
stratum of rotted cow-dung at about eight inches beneath the 
surface. Let the bed be raised a few inches above the adjoining 
ground and rounded so as to turn off rains, and have it hooped 
over so that, in severe frosts or long- continued rains, you may 
throw over a covering to guard against either. Dy seed: Procure 
the seed from those plants that have the tallest and straightest 
stems, the flowers the most even, the most clear in the cup, and 
of the purest colours : and let the seed remain on the plant till 
the pod in which it is contained becomes of a brown colour, and 
begins to burst. Sow and manage in the manner directed for the 
Hyacinth, which see. For bulbs that are already blowers, most 
florists choose square beds, in which they plant them in rows at 
seven inches asunder ; the beds being first prepared in this way : 
they are marked out according as the dimensions are determined 
on ; then the earth is digged out completely to the depth of 
tvventy inches or more ; a layer, ten inches thick, of good fresh 
earth from a rather sandy pasture is put in, and upon it a thin 
coat of M'ell-rotted cow-dung ; on that, another layer of the fresh 
pasture mould is laid in, to about four inches above the surface of 
the ground, in the middle, and sloping down at the sides, where 
also it should be a little higher than the adjacent ground, to 
which it will settle. It is left so for ten days, and then, about the 
end of October, being intersected by lines across and along in 
such way as for every intersection to be seven inches from the 
neighbouring ones, holes about four inches deep are made at 
every one of these, a little drift sand deposited in each hole, and 
the btdbs are put in and covered over carefully. Beds of this 



318 



SHRUBBERIES AND FLOWER-GARDENS. 



[chap. 



kind are generally hooped over, so as to admit of covering during 
the winter ; but some have a high frame to cover them, so high 
as to admit of one's walking under ; and these are covered with 
canvass awnings and are intended to keep off the fierce rays of 
the sun while the plants are in blossom. When planted in the 
flower-border, tulips should be put in clusters of from six to 
twelve, and the bulbs not nearer to one another than six or seven 
inches. They should be planted, in very light soils, at six inches 
beneath the surface ; and, in heavy soils, at four inches beneath 
the surface, and should have a little sand put into the holes that 
they are planted in. Lightish pasture-ground is most suitable 
to them, and the manure for them is always rotted cow-dung. 
When the leaves begin to turn brown, and the upper part of the 
flower stem also begins to turn, take up the bulbs and place them 
in a dry but airy situation, where they will remain till September 
or October, when you separate their offsets from them and replant 
both offsets and mother bulbs in their respective beds. I must 
again observe that, in the flower borders, they look best in clus- 
ters ; the early ones particularly are ornamental in this way, being 
very short in the flower-stalk and blending well with the yellow 
and blue crocuses. 

590. VALERIAN, hlue-flowered Greek. — Lat. Polemonium 
ccBruleum, Is a hardy perennial plant, common in many parts of 
England, blowing in May, June and July, a bright blue, or a white, 
flower. Propagated by seed or by separating the roots. Any soil 
suits it, but not a shady situation. About two or three feet high. — 
Valerian, red. — Lat. Valeriana rubra. A perennial plant of 
the south of France, three or four feet high, and blows a red 
flower from June to October. There are other sorts with white, 
pink and lilac flowers. They come handsomest in a light, warm 
and rich soil, and are propagated by sowing the seed, and by 
dividing the roots. When once obtained they sow^ themselves. 

591. VENUS'S LOOKING-GLASS. —Lat. Campanula 
specidum. A little annual, growing eight or ten inches high, and, 
in May and July, blowing many very pretty small white or violet- 
coloured flowers. Sow early in the spring, and in the place where 
it is to remain. 

692. VERBENA, creepz??^. — Lat. V. chamaedrifolia mendoza. 
A traiUng and most contemptible plant to look upon until its b'os- 
sonis begin to appear, which they do early in June, and which 



VII.] 



LIST OF FLOWERS. 



319 



consists of a small tuft of the most brilliant scarlet flowers that 
can be conceived. It should be slightly protected during winter ; 
and under a slight covering of straw or litter it will die down and 
then come up again in spring. Propagate by cuttings or layers, 
any piece having a joint will strike freely. A beautiful plant for 
rock-work, and blows all the summer long. 

593. VERNONI A, long-leaved. — Lat. V. novehoracensis. A 
perennial plant from North America, three or four feet in height, and 
blows a blue, or light purple, flower, from September till Novem- 
ber. — Vernonia, tall, — Lat. Vernonia prealta. A hardy peren- 
nial plant from North America, five or six feet high, and blows a 
purple flow^er from September till November. These plants are 
very ornamental in shrubberies, as they blow when all other 
things have done. Propagated by separating their roots : also by 
seed, sown in the open earth. Like a rich loamy soil. -Ver- 
vain^ cluster -floicered. — Lat. Verhena midtifida. A hardy bien- 
nial plant from Buenos Ay res. Blows a deep purple flower from 

1 July till October. Vervain, rose. — Lat. Verbena auhletia. 

A biennial frame plant from North America. About six inches 
! high, and blows a red flower from June till August. Propagated 

by seed or by dividing the roots. Will do in any soil. 

594. VETCH, hitter spring . — Lat. Orohus vernus. A perennial 
plant common in France and other parts of Europe, about a foot 

' high, and blows in March and April. Propagated by seed sown in 
the open earth, as soon as it is ripe. When the roots are strong 
enough, plant them where they are to grow\ It is sometimes ne- 
cessary to let them wait till the spring or the following autumn 

jj before they are removed. Likes any soil. Vetch-milk (6^oa^'5 

rue-leaved). — Lat. Astragalus galegiformis. A perennial plant 
,] originally from Siberia. Its height four feet, blows, in July and 
\ August, yellow flowers. It is multiplied by seed sowed in a bed of 
' light earth which is exposed to the south-east. When the young 
j plants are five or six inches high, plant them where they are des- 
j lined to grow. 

595. VIOLET. — Lat. Viola odorata. A hardy perennial plant, 
common in England and most parts of Europe, and blows a deep blue 
flower in March and April. Varieties white, and rose-coloured ; 

I double blue, white, and rose-coloured ; they all like a moist and 
j shady situation, and the single varieties are easily propagated by 
I seed sowed in a shady place as soon as it is ripe, that is, about 

i 



320 



SHKUBBERIES AND FLOWER GARDENS. 



[chap. 



the begimiiug of August ; they do not come up till spring, and 
when of a pretty good size, the young plants should be transplanted 
into a shady bed there to remain until autumn, when you may 
plant them where they are to remain. The double sort bears no 
seed, therefore is propagated only by dividing the roots, which is 
the easiest and, perhaps, best way of propagating either. Do this 
as soon as the plant has done flowering, keep it moist till it have 
taken root ; water, if the weather be very dry ; and do not part 
the roots more than once in three years, as the tufts must be pretty 
thick to flower well. — Violet, the dogs-tooth. — Lat. Erythronium 
dens canis. A purple pendulous flower with leaves spotted with 
brown on the upper side. Blows in the beginning of April. May 
be transplanted any time between June and September. Roots 
should not be kept out of the ground long, for they are apt to 
rot. Plant in patches, ten or a dozen roots near to one another, 
as they look best so. Perennial, four inches high. 

596. WALLFLOWER. — Lat. Cheiranthus cheiri. A biennial 
plant of the south of Europe. Grows from one to two feet high, 
and blows a fine yellow flower from April till June. Propagated 
by seed, sowed in a hot-bed of moderate heat, or in beds out of 
doors in March. When they are four or five inches high, they 
are planted where they are to remain. They want little w^atering, 
and a soil rather dry than moist. The double ones are pro- 
pagated by cuttings planted in good earth and rather shaded. This 
plant is called hardy, but in very severe frosts it should have pro- 
tection, or it blows late and sparingly, and not so double as other- 
wise it would. It may be made the hardier by being sowed in 
poor ground, which causes the plant to be less succulent and con- 
sequently less susceptible of frost. It grows well on old walls, or 
any walls, indeed ; or on rubbish of any kind, and makes a pretty 
show wherever it is found. 

597. WILLOW-HERB, ^^ero5e hay. — Lat. Epilohhim anyusti- 
folium. A native perennial plant, owing its vulgar name to the 
resemblance of its leaf to that of the common willow. It grows 
three or four feet high, sends up innumerable branches, which are 
decked thinly all the way up by narrow pointed leaves, and, to- 
wards the tops of these branches, it bears a peach-blossom flower 
in July and August. It is a troublesome thing i.i a flower border, 
on account of the great quantity of stems that it sends up from its 
very wide-spreading root, and, on this account (as well as on ac- 



LIST or FLOWERS. 



321 



count of its height not suiting a border), it is not cultivated in it, 
but is generally amongst the front rows of the shrubbery. The 
I soil that it likes best is a moist one, but it does not refuse a pretty 
1 dry one. There is a w^hite variety ; both propagated by dividing 
the roots in the fall. 

WOOD-SORR^h, violet-coloured. — Lat. Oxalis violacea. A 
perennial bulb originally from North America, and blows a violet- 
coloured flow er in May and June. It grows three or four inches 
high, hkes a light soil, and is propagated by parting the offsets, 
or by seed, which should be managed like the tulip, only that it 
requires less pains. 

WORM-GRASS, Maryland. — Lat. Spigelia Marilandica. A 
handsome crimson flower blowing in June and July. Native of 
^Maryland. It is difficult to propagate, which must be done by 
j parting its roots ; and though sufficiently hardy to bear an ordinary 
! winter, it is difficult to keep. It grows a foot high. 

XERANTHEMUM, annual or immortal herh. — Lat. X, an- 
nuum. A plant from the south of Europe. About a foot high, 
I and blows, in July and August, a purplish flower. Propagate from 
seed sowed in the open ground where it is to grow. When it is 
in a warm situation it propagates itself. 

ZINNIA. — Lat. Z. multiflora. An annual plant originally from 
j North America. Sends up many flower stalks about a foot and a 
' half high, and, at the end of each, bears a brownish red flower, in 
the months of July, August, and September. Propagated by sow- 
ing the seed in April where the plants are to blow, or in Februaiy 
in a hot-bed, to be planted out in April ; not particular as to soil 
or situation ; will do well in rock-work, and makes a pretty show 
in the border. 

ZIZIPHORA, oval-leaved, — Lat. Z. capitatum. A hardy an- 
nual plant from Syria, about six inches high, and blows a purplish 
flower in June and July. — Z. spear-leaved. — Lat. Z. teauior. 
A hardy annual plant from the Levant, about a foot high, and 
blows in June and July. Both are propagated by seed sown in 
the autumn or in the spring w here they are to remain. 



Y 



A KALENDAR 



Of Work to he performed in each Month of the Year, 



JANUAEY. 

Kitchen-Garden. — In our variable climate, what is to be done this 
month depends much on the state of the weather ; but, if it is not 
deep snow, there is always something to be done advantageously. 
Even deep snow gives time for cleaning, thrashing, and sorting of 
seeds, preparing stakes and pea-sticks, tying mats, sorting bulbs, and 
many similar sorts of employment. Dry frost makes an opportunity of 
manuring land with ease and neatness, and also of pruning gooseberries^ 
currants, and other hardy shrubs, and of clearing away dead trees and 
bushes, and thinning others. If the weather is mild and open, a few 
seeds may be sown, but not in great quantities ; in general, land is now 
troublesome to work ; fresh digged, or forked (if it has been ridge- 
trenched), works best. Sow, for early use, radishes and carrots on a 
warm sunny border ) peas, beans, round spinage, parsley 3 small salad 
in frames, old mint roots on heat under glass will soon give a supply of 
green mint. Pot over and cover seacale, and rhubarb ; where a suc- 
cession is required, some may be forced on heat, some with dry litter, 
ashes, or even with light mould. Remember that the blanching of sea- 
cale depends on the exclusion of the light and air, either of which spoils 
it. Attend to lettuces and cauliflowers in frames, endive in frames or 
under hoops ; in mild weather, if dry, let them have as much air as pos- 
sible ; in hard frost, cover well. A few onions for eating green should 
now be sown, cover with dry litter till they are up. Mushroom beds 
must be most carefully protected from wet and frost, cover well with 
dry litter j mats or canvass covering is indispensably necessary, over 
the litter, to keep it firm and throw off the wet. Turn dunghills and 
compost heaps. I say it at once for the whole year, destroy vermin 
wherever you can find them. 



KALEXDAR. 



323 



Fruit Garden. — Cut and nail in vines, pears, cherries, and plums 
against walls and fences ; apricots and peaches are more safely left till 
next month, or rather till the buds hegin to swell. Thin standard and 
dwarf trees of decayed and superfluous wood. Plant fruit trees, if 
favourable weather ; prune gooseberries and currants and other fruit 
shrubs ; prepare and plant cuttings of the two former, and suckers of 
the latter, to plant in a nursery 3 take oSF the shoot buds of the goose- 
berries and currants as far as they are to be planted in the ground, 
so doing prevents the stems of the future bushes from being always 
pestered with suckers : it will not prevent the cutting from striking. 

Flower Garden and Shrubbery. — In this little can be done this 
month, except planting hardy roots and bulbs, and protecting by cover- 
ing those planted in autumn : j)lant deciduous trees and shrubs. Sow 
sweet-peas to succeed those sown in November ; roll, poll, and sweep 
grass walks, verges, and lawns ; keep them clear from leaves and rub- 
bish 3 root out dandelions and docks, if there. Plant box edgings. 

Forcing Ground. — Attend to articles sown on heat in December. 
If you want them early, you may now force radishes on slight heat 
under frames, asparagus, potatoes, French beans, rhubarb, seacale, 
strawberries in pots. Where you have the convenience of a green- 
house, many things may be forwarded in this way. Cucumbers and 
melons now require particular attention, to keep up the heat equally 
by linings and coverings. Son: for next month. 

Green-House. — Pick oflF decayed leaves, water sparingly, give air 
freely in mild dry days j light fires, not to promote growth, but to 
keep out frost, and to dry up damps. Cover potted stocks and other 
plants in frames during hard frost. 

FEBEU-iEY. 

Kitchen Garden. — Whatever was mentioned as proper to be done 
last month, and was not performed, maybe done this, either in sowing, 
planting or pruning : if your land is light and dry, you may sow onions 
for a main crop towards the close of the month, but on cold and heavy 
soils it is better to wait to the middle of March 5 earth up celery, if you 
have any left unearthed. Tlant beans for a full crop about the middle 
of the month. Sow peas in succession as they are hkely to be wanted, 
radishes under straw covering, coss lettuce on heat to transplant ; on 
light rich soils lettuces may be sown broadcast, or drilled 5 they will, if 
they escape slugs and other vermin, be nearly as forward as those now 
sown on heat ; the frost will seldom injure them. If you have good 
strong plants of the coss lettuces which, sown in October, in the frames, 

y ^ 



324 



KALENDAR. 



have stood the winter, and the weather be mild and the plants in a grow- 
ing state^ transplant them on a sunny spot of rich light soil ; do not 
be afraid of winds and frosts. Sow savoys for early planting, leeks, 
cabbages if wanted, spinage, parsnips, parsley, carrots, Dutch turnips 
under litter, cauliflowers on heat. ]\rany of these sowings must 
depend on the natiire of your soil and the weather. Plant cabbages^ 
garlickj rocambole, onions for seed, shalots, chives, horseradish-crowns. 
Get what hoeing you can done in dry days : get as close in with your 
work as you can ; and prepare for the busy month of March. 

pRuiT Garden. — Continue, and. conclude if you can, the business of 
last month ; prime and nail in peaches, apricots, figs, nectarines 3 lay 
Tiines (in pots is the best way), soic haws, pips, and fruit kernels 5 many 
kinds of which may not only be much forwarded, but secured, if sown 
under glass, from the birds and vermin : in their infant state many of 
these things are very tender. Plant fruit-trees, shrubs, and boshes ; 
crab, apple, pear, and other stocks for next year's grafting : if favour- 
able weather, grafting may be begun at the close of the month 5 col- 
lect and prepare scions for grafting. 

F1.0WER Garden. — Towards the end, if open weather, transplant 
pinks, carnations, and other hardy flowers, part the roots of southern- 
wood, sweet-williams, candytuft, campanula, &c., if not done in the 
autumn make and repair box and thrift edgings. Get your straw- 
berries, grass lawns and verges and gravel walks, into order. 

FoRCixG Ground. — Attend to your cucumbers and melons, and to 
all other matters in this department. Sow cucumbers and melons to 
pot and ridge out in March : many articles may now be forced with 
less diflSculty than in the former month, as, kidney-beans, strawberries, 
rhubarb ; less heat and less covering will be required, unless the 
weather is particularly severe. 

Green-House. — Give air freely, when the weather admits of so 
doing, no more fire-heat than is necessary to keep out frost and dispel 
damp ; other management as last month : shorten and head straggling 
growing plants. ' - 

AIAECH. 

Kitchen Garden. — Sou: artichokes. Windsor beans, cauliflowers to 
come in the autumn : celery^ capsicums, love-apples, marjoram and 
basil, on gentle heat ; lettuces, marigold, blue, Prussian, and other peas 
in succession : onions for a principal crop, but do not sow them till 
the ground works well and fine j parsley, radishes, borare, sr^voys, 
small salading in succession as wanted asparagus in seed ; e^:? icets, 



KALENDAR. 



325 



salsafy, scorzenera, skirrets, fennel, cabbages, red and white, turnips, 
nasturtiums, early purple brocoli, thynie, and all sorts of herbs that 
are raised from seed, Brussels-sprouts, parsnips, round spinage, leeks, 
carrots for a main crop, chervil, coriander, French beans at the close 
of the month in a warm soil ; plant out cauliflowers, hops in clumps for 
iheir tops, small onions last year's sowing, for early heading, old 
onions for seed, lettuces, perennial herbs by slips or parting the roots, 
asparagus, artichokes from suckers, potatoes for a main crop, cabbages, 
white and red, Jerusalem artichokes, chives, potato-onions, &c. 

Fkuit Garden. — Head down old trees and shrubs, plant out trees 
and shrubs, continue and finish pruning if you can ; plant out stocks 
for next year's grafting and budding, if not done in autumn, (this is 
the principal month for grafting most sorts of trees,) plant gooseberries, 
currants, raspberries, protect blossoms of fruit-trees when in blossom, 
dig fruit-tree borders. 

Flower Gardex. — Son: adonis, alyssum, prince's feather, snap- 
dragon, yellow balsam, candy-tuft, catchfly, convolvulus minor, devil- 
in-a-bush, hawkweed, Indian pink, larkspurs, lavatera, linaria^ i^ig- 
nonette, moonwort, nasturtiums, nigella, palma christi, pansey, 
sweet pea, persicaria, scabious, sun-flowers, strawberry-spinage, ten- 
week-stocks, sweet sultan, venus-naval-wort. On hot-bed, soic convol- 
vulus major, amaranthus, tricolor and globe, balsam, chinaster, china 
hollyhock, chrysanthemums, jacobea (French groundsel), ten-week- 
stocks, zinnia, marvel-of-Peru, plant autumnal bulbs, such as the tiger 
flower, dahlias, anemones, and ranunculuses, if any not yet planted, 
may make a late blossom. Hardy kinds of potted plants that have been 
sheltered should be now gradually inured to the open air, dress auri- 
culas, carnations, protect best tulips and hyacinths, plant offsets, and 
part fibrous-rooted plants, take up and plant layers of carnations, pinks, 
seedlings of the same and other things and plant them, plant box, 
thrift, and daisies for edgings. Many of even the more hardy kinds 
of plants will be much advanced if sown on a little heat, and care- 
fully hardened to the open air before put out. Lay turf, put and keep 
gravel-walks in good order, also grass-plats and edgings, roll, poll, 
and sweep, keep the shrubbery clean, remove all litter, finish planting 
shrubs. 

Forcing Ground. — This is a good time to begin to force vines, if you 
you have a grapery , the sun will so materially assist you. Cucumbers 
and melons, in fruit, and beginning to show fruit, must be carefully at- 
tended to: give air and water as required 3 line the beds as the heat 
declines: cover carefully, and uncover early 3 sow for a crop for June 
and August : make slight hot beds for French beans, and for raising 



326 



KALENDAR. 



seedlings of the tender plants you may want. Mushroom beds may 
be made. 

Green-House. — Fire heat will not be necessary now, unless in 
unusually cold or damp weather, or, when frost is indicated j give air 
and vvater more freely. Shift and re-pot those plants that require it. 
Propagate by cuttings, slips, layers, and parting the roots, grafting, 
budding, and inarching. Sow geranium and balm-of-Gilead seeds, 
&c., on slight heat. Pot out in small pots, when fit, the balsams, 
amaranthuses, cockscombs, sensitives, and other tender annuals, on 
slight heat under glass ; they will, the best of them, have to take their 
station in the green-house, when the present possessors, the geraniums, 
myrtles, &c., are turned out. — See Flower Garden^ March. 

APRIL. 

Kitchen Garden. — Beans may still be sown, peas, kidney beans, 
scarlets, beets, brocoli, purple, white, and brimstone, late and early of 
all sorts : the cape about the third week, the sprouting the first week 3 
savoys, cabbages, green cale, brown cale, Lapland ditto, and sea cale, 
it is best to sow this last in drills where it is to remain, as it trans- 
plants with great difficulty and never well, on account of the brittleness 
of the roots ; sow it in drills about eighteen inches apart, from row to 
row. Continue sowing in general what was directed last month if 
wanted, and not then sown, or the seed or plants destroyed or failed. 
Kidney-beans for full crop at the end of the month if dry, also scarlet- 
runners, herbs, onions to pull young. Leeks, turnips, spinage, caraway, 
basil and marjorum on heat. Plant potatoes, slips of thyme, lavender, 
sage, rosemary, rue, tansey,balm, hyssop, tarragon, wormwood, sorrel, 
savory, by parting of the roots 5 mint, by cutting the young sprigs 
about an inch in the ground, with a portion of the roots. Plant lettuces, 
celery for early use, cauliflowers, cabbages, if required, leeks, turnips, 
transplant onions, prick out the capsicums sown last month on gentle 
heat J prick out celery sown in February or March. Hoeing and 
weeding are now required among all the crops planted in autumn, and 
as spring-planted grow, weeding and hoeing must be done to promote 
grov/th. Stick peas. 

Fruit Garden. — Finish planting trees and shrubs and stocks 3 head 
down newly-planted trees and stocks ; finish hedging, ditching, and 
banking, all clean up. Sow fruit-stones, kernels, and pips, protect 
blossoms, rub off all the useless and foreright shoots of wall-trees in 
time. Attend to newly-grafted trees, and keep the clay firm. Sow 
seeds of forest trees. 



KALENDAR, 



327 



Flower-Garden and Shrubbery. — Sow the same as last month, 
sow at the end for succession, the same things; but those then sowed 
in a hot-bed;, to forward them, may now be sowed in the open ground : 
propagate by layers^ slips, and cuttings ; strike slips or cuttings of 
China roses on gentle heat 3 prick out on gentle heat tender annuals 
to forward them. Shelter choice auriculas in pots from wind, rain, 
and sun. This is the best time to plant evergreens ; plant dahlias, cry- 
santhemums, stocks^ and other hardy annuals. Mow grass-plats, &c., 
sweep and roll. 

Forcing Ground. — Keep the grapery to about seventy-five degrees, 
pull o£F all useless shoots and top-bearing branches 3 keep your 
cucumbers and melons in free growth, less artificial heat, air and 
water more freely. If the plants droop at hot sun, shade for an hour 
or two, make beds for succession as required ; sow cucumbers for 
planting under hand-glasses in May ; gourds, squashes, pumpkins. 
Keep the hardier things that are forced, such as potatoes, French beans, 
&c., duly watered ; give air by taking the glasses off, cover at night. 

Green-House. — Fire heat will not now be wanted, unless to expel 
damp and sharp frost 3 air and water more freely. Shift and re-pot those 
plants which need it. Propagate by the rules laid down for last month. 
If insects appear, fumigate them, strike heaths, sow and graft camellias ; 
prune and tie where wanted. 

MAY. 

Kitchen Garden.- — Sow kidney-beans, brocoli for spring use, 
cape for autumn, cauliflowers for December 5 Indian corn, cress, 
cucumbers under hand-glasses, and in the open ground, for pickling. 
Onions to plant out next year as bulbs ; radishes, spinage, salsafy, 
skirrets, squash, nasturtiums, herbs, endive (not much), turnips, cab- 
bages, savoys, lettuces, coleworts, prick out and plant celery, lettuces, 
capsicums, basil, marjorum and other annual herbs, love-apples j slip 
sage, this is proverbially the best time of the year for its striking. Plant 
radishes for seed, spring-sown cabbages, finish planting of potatoes stick 
peas, move cucumbers and squashes put out last month, top beans when 
in blossom 5 hoe and thin out the crops of onions, carrots, lettuces, 
parsnips, and other spring crops : hoe and earth up peas, beans, potatoes, 
keep the hoe w^ell moving, and destroy weeds everywhere. Tie up 
lettuces and cabbages to heart in, and blanch for use. Mark the 
stumvs of best cabbages when cut, to put out for seed ; when the stumps 
have sprouted above two inches, take them up, and lay them in by the 
heels at 'a foot apart, and about three feet from row to row. 



3G8 



KALEXDAR. 



Fruit Garden. — Look to your grafts, and take off or loosen the 
bandages as wanted, disbud or take off with your finger and thumb the 
foreright and superfluous young shoots of wall-trees : thin the fruit set 
on the apricots, peaches, and nectarines ; nail in the vines as soon as 
possible. Caterpillars luill 710W le hatching . Water new-planted trees if 
necessary, keep young stocks and seedlings clear in the nursery 3 if 
troubled with insects, water or rather pelt wall-trees with strong lime 
or tobacco water, or fumigate them with a bellows. Look over newly- 
budded and grafted trees, and rub off all the shoots that arise from the 
stock, below the bud of the graft. Water strajvberries. 

Flower Garden. — Weed, hoe, and set out, to their proper distances, 
seedlings just come up ; at about the middle or end of the month sow- 
again, for succession, larkspurs, mignonette, ten-week and wallflower- 
leaved stock, minor convolvuhis, Virginia stock, propagate by slips, 
cuttings, and layers, double wallflowers, pinks, sweet-williams, rockets, 
scarlet lychnis, &C.3 thin seedlings soon to prevent their being drawn 
up spindling ; pot out tender annuals, freely give air to plants in the 
frames as the weather permits. Shift and tie potted plants that need 
it ; keep all clean, remove auriculas in pots to a north-east aspect : 
take up bulbous and tuberous roots as their leaves decay. Keep the 
gravel-walks and grass in neat trim. 

Forcing Ground. — Continue the grapery at the same heat j as the 
fruit swells, thin the berries of the bunches with scissors: water the 
vines with drainings of a dung-hill. Less heat and covering will now 
be required for cucumbers and melons, and more air and water re- 
quired ; ridge out cucumbers under hand-glasses : water mushroom 
beds, if dry. 

Green-House. — Air and water abundantly ; towards the middle of 
the month remove the more hardy plants oat into their summer 
stations, let the rest follow as occasion offers ; very tender ones may 
still remain. Shift and propagate as before, bring in tender annuals 
from the frames. 

JUNE. 

Kitchen Garden. — Sow kidney-beans, pumpkins, tomattos, cole- 
worts for a supply of young winter greens : under the name of j^Zan^s they 
are sold nearly all the year round, in the London vegetable markets. Cu- 
cumbers for pickling, this is indeed the safest and perhaps the best time 
for sowing this article. It is so tender that it can but seldom stand the 
natural air in this climate till this month, many of the London market 
gardeners sow from two to twenty acres j their method is to sow it in 



KALENDAR. 



329 



shallow drills about six or eight feet apart, dropping the seeds about three 
or four inches apart in the drills, which are slightly watered if the ground 
is dry, if the ground is hot, the seeds vegetate and come up in a few 
days j after they get a rough leaf-, they are thinned by hoeing them out to 
a foot or fifteen inches apart, and earthed with a hoe as they grow, and 
soon cover the ground j excellent crops are sometimes had from those 
sown even late in June, while those of May have been stunted and can- 
kered : they seldom succeed by transplanting to the open air. Sow 
black Spanish radishes for autumn and winter use, other radishes if 
wanted, endive, principal sowing late in the month. Lettuces, the hardy 
cosses are now the best to sow, celery for late turnips, peas, cardoons. 
Plant cucumbers and gourds, pumpkins, nasturtiums, and in general 
similar articles not planted out last month, leeks, celery, cauliflowers, 
brocoli, borecole, and greencole, savoys, and other articles of autumn 
and winter use, seedling and struck slips of herbs, water them when 
wanted, hoe, thin out, and clean all from weeds of the spring-sown crops j 
earth beans and peas, potatoes, kidney-beans, top beans as they blossom, 
slipping of herbs will still succeed, tie up lettuces to blanch for use. 
stick pe^is, leave off cutting asparagus about the twenty-fourth, keep the 
hoe well employed, save some of the best and earliest cauliflowers for 
seed, cut mint and other herbs for drying : a general rule for cutting 
herbs for drying is, to cut them when in full flower. 

Fruit Garden. — We have little labour here now, except in the 
prospect of gathering the crop as it comes in 3 tie up and secure young 
grafted trees, trimming the stocks of the wild wood 5 summer prune 
and nail wall trees. Budding may be begun at the close of the month. 
Clip hedges, net cherries. 

Flower Gardex. — General work much the same as last month : tie 
tall-growing flowers up to sticks ; sow Brompton, Twickenham, and giant 
stocks to flower next spring, lay roses, evergreens, slip myrtles to strike, 
pipe and lay pinks and carnations, tender annuals in borders, plant 
out in nursery-beds seedling pinks, carnations and pickatees (sown on 
slight heat in April), auriculas and polyanthuses in shady places. 

Forcing Ground. — Finish thinning grapes in grapery, keep the vines 
neatly trimmed and tied, discontinue fires, unless in cold or damp 
weather, still attend to cucumbers and melons, give air and water 
freely, attend to the succession crops, let the vines of the cucumbers, 
planted under hand-glasses, run out from beneath, by tilting the 
glasses, prune them occasionally. 

Green-House. — Give air and water as wanted. Those plants that 
are out of the house must be attended to, watered when necessary, 
trimmed and tied ; if excessive rain falls for days together, and you 



330 



KALENDAR. 



fear too much moisture, turn the pots sideways, set out what were 
too tender to put out last month. Propagate as last month. 

JULY. 

Kitchen Garden.- — Sow kidney-beans, for the last crop, about the 
twentieth, they seldom succeed if sown later ; early dwarf cabbages, a 
principal sowing, to plant out in October, for the general crop for next 
spring and summer's use may be made from the twenty- fifth to the thir- 
ty-first, endive for autumn, peas and beans have still a little chance of suc- 
cess 3 radishes, lettuces, only the more hardy sorts will now succeed ; 
onions a few to pull green in the autumn for salads, it should be Lisbon 
or Reading onion. Coleworts for a main crop for winter, early in the 
month, turnips principal sowing of the year, for autumn and winter use, 
chervil to stand the winter. Plant celery, endive, lettuces, cabbages, 
leeks, savoys, brocoli, greencale, cauliflowers. Hoe and keep all clean 5 
dry herbs, pull up, dry, and house, onions, garlick, shalots and the like 
as the tops fade. Stick peas and scarlet-beans, blanch white beets, tie 
up lettuces and endive for blanching, top beans, earth celery, gather 
seeds. 

Fruit Garden. — Bud ; water, if dry, newly-planted fruit-trees j nail 
and thin, and trim wall-fruit-trees, keep all in neat order. Head down 
young espaliers j stop fruit-bearing shoots of vines 3 prune away shoots 
and suckers from the stems of trees. Net morella and other cherries, 
and currants. 

Flower Garden. — General work as last month. What was not done 
then, must be done this ; repetition would be useless ; part auriculas and 
polyanthus roots, gather seeds, dry and house them, mark every sort and 
sample. Plant saffron crocus and other autumn bulbs. Sow mignonette 
in pots to blow in shelter in the winter, likewise ten-week stock, both at 
the end of the month, to make an earlier sowing as well, would give a 
better chance. Clip box, also evergreen hedges. 

Forcing Ground. — The crop in the grapery will now be ripening or 
ripe, keep the vines neatly trimmed ; give plenty of air to colour the 
grapes ; a tire may be necessary in very damp weather to prevent in- 
jury to the fruit. Successional graperies require the same treatment in 
the different stages of their growth. Attend to your late cucumbers 
and melons, of which, if properly managed, 5'ou v/ill have abundance. 

Green-House. — General treatment as last month. Geranium cuttin2:s 
will now strike like weeds in the open ground, from which they are 
easily potted. Strike heaths. This is the best month, particularly the 
early part of it, to strike myrtles. The slips should be about two inches 



KALENDAE. 



331 



long, thickly pricked out into large pots, or under a hand-glass on gentle 
heat, and shaded from hot sun, till they have struck, which will be seen 
by their making growth : they will not be tit to pot till September. 

AUGUST. 

Kitchen Garden.— <Som; early cabbages in the first week, the last 
sowing for the year. Red cabbages same time cauliflower for spring 
and summer use, about the twenty-first, cress, hardy coss and cabbage 
lettuces from about the twelfth to the thirtieth, to stand the winter, 
prickly spinage for a principal winter crop about the same time. Turnips 
last sowing, Welsh onions first week in the month, Lisbon, Strasburg, 
and Reading, from the middle to the end of the month. Radishes, 
chervil, Spanish turnip radishes, carrots to pull early in the spring, corn 
salad, plant endive in sheltered spots ; planting for winter must not now 
be delayed, put out as fast as possible, if not enough planted, savoys, 
cabbages, broccoli, coleworts, celery, &c. Hoe, and earth up where 
necessary, weed, and thin young crops, water and shade where requisite. 
Gather seeds as they ripen, dry and store them, dry and house onions, 
garlic, shalots 3 dry herbs as they flower. Dig up, dry, and put by 
mushroom spawn. 

Fruit Garden. — Finish buddings and loosen the bandages round 
buds, put in earlier, or take them entirely off, plant out strawberries that 
struck in the fore part of the spring ; keep all the wall-trees in neat trim ; 
early in the month wattle round with willow or hurdle rods some of the 
best currant-bushes, where none of the fruit has been fingered, and mat 
them over, or, what is better, cover them with canvass or bunting ; the 
crop may with care be preserved till October. 

Flower Garden. — Continue to take up, dry and store, bulbous and 
other flower roots, as the leaves decay. General work as last month. 
Gather seeds of shrubs and flowers. Sow in pots for succession to blow 
in the winter. Plant autumnal bulbs: plant, where to remain, pipings 
and layers, and seedhngs of hardy plants 5 transplant auriculas and 
their like. Shift succulent plants in pots. 

Forcing Ground. — The greatest part of the labour here is now over 
for the year. Attend to what you have left, water and thin as required ; 
make mushroom beds, put by and repair lights and frames as they fall 
into disuse ; or place them to forward and protect wall-fruit. 

Green-House. — ^The same management as last month and the pre- 
vious, pot and shift towards the end of the month. Pot all your young 
stock, raised from seed, cuttings or layers. 



KALENDAR. 



SEPTEMBER. 

Kitchen Garden. — Sow Reading onions for transplanting in the 
spring, carrots on warm border ; both the first week ; spinage, Spanish 
and other radishes in warm spots, same time. Plant, for spring, cole- 
worts, savoys for greens, late brocoli, celery, lettuces, and endive on 
warm borders, or, dry open pieces ; herbs, culinary and medicinal 3 prick 
out cauliflowers , clear herb-beds and all decayed articles j finish drying 
and housing of onions, seeds, &c., earth up celery, cardoons, take up 
and house potatoes, cut onion seed. 

Fruit Garden. — Propagate by layers and cuttings, gather and store 
keeping fruit as it ripens or is fit ; net grapes, bag the best in bags of 
gauze, crape or bunting. Keep all trim on the wall-trees ; thin the 
leaves (but not too much) where they impede the rays of the sun 
from the fruit 3 prepare ground for planting fruit-trees. 

Flower Garden. — Take up tiger flowers and other tender bulbs. Put 
in pots Guernsey and Belladonna lilies : clear decayed flowers and lit- 
tered leaves away ; trim plants and shrubs, the best auriculas in pots, 
dress, shift, and place in shady shelter. Towards the end of the month 
plant crocuses, common anemones, early tulips, lilies, and other scaly 
bulbs; remove succulent potted plants into shelter, as aloes, Indian figs, 
&c. Remove potted mignonette to a warm sunny border, or place it in 
frames, covering at night. Plant out seedling carnations, pinks, and 
pickatees, also layers and pipings of, where they are to remain 3 gather 
seeds. 

Forcing Ground. — The observations of last month are applicable 
to this, almost all is in a state of decline and inactivity here, as far as 
regards forcing 3 the same may be said of the succeecHng month and 
November, except that in November preparations may be made for 
forcing asparagus and sea cale, this month, however, is a good time 
for making mushroom beds. 

Green-House. — Ha I we smell winter here. General management 
the same as last month. The more tender plants should now be taken 
in the first week ; it is better to be too early than too late 3 and if 
surprised by frost, the effects are woeful. The whole should be housed 
by the end of the month as a measure of prudence. 

OCTOBER. 

Kitchen Garden. — Sow a few mazagan beans, cress, white coss 
lettuces in frames for spring planting. Manure well, and plant the 
principal crop of cabbages for spring, lettuces, coleworts, celery, last 



KALENDAR. 



333 



planting J shalots, garlic on dry ground, strawberries, bulbs, herbs, 
clear off decayed leaves, hoe and weed, get all as clean upas possible ; 

j finish taking up and housing potatoes, the same of carrots, salsafy, 
scorzenera, shelter seedling cauliflowers from frost, or they will be black 
shanked. Break in the leaves of the late cauliflower that show fruit, to 
cover them from frost; early white brocoli the same, cut down asparagus 
stalks, trench vacant ground, manure. Get all your planting close up. 

Fruit Garden, — Transplant young fruit-trees ; plant stocks of all 
kinds as soon as the sap is down. Apples and pears, and all winter- 

I keeping fruit, must not be delayed gathering beyond this month. Sow 
cherry-stones, take up layers of trees and shrubs of last year's laying 
and plant them. 

I Flower Garden. — Very hardy flowers, such as larkspurs, may be 
, sowed to stand the winter, and blossom early, plant hyacinths, tulips, 
I anemones, ranunculuses, bulbous irises, &c. Finish separating and 

planting, carnation layers, &c. Put hyacinths, narcissuses, early tulips 
! and jonquils, in water-glasses. Plant cuttings of jasmine, laurel, cubas, 
j honeysuckle, &c., preserve potted carnations from wet and frost, place 
I them in a sunny situation, house or put under glass the mignonette in 
j pots. Plants, deciduous trees and shrubs, herbaceous plants. 

Forcing Ground. — The directions for last month apply here ; attend 

to your mushroom beds. 

Green -House. — Water sparingly, give much air, move all in, 
I arrange your plants and take care of them. 

NOVEMBER. 

Kitchen Garden. — Soiu early peas, leeks, beans, radishes, and early 
horn carrots, on warm borders, salad on heat. Plant cabbage-stumps for 
I seed, cauliflowers under hand-glasses and frames early in the month, 
I lettuces under cover for winter use, endive, rhubarb in rows after 
; parting old roots 3 finish taking up potatoes early, or the frost may save 
; you the trouble 3 take up and store carrots, beets, some parsnips also, to 
' get at in frost. Thin lettuces sown last month in frames, sift fine dry 
j mould among them to strengthen them, keep them dry, let them not 
; have the least shower, all depends on keeping them dry, yet keep the 
lights off during the day, and tilt at night to give as much air as possible 
unless hard frost. Give free air to cauliflowers in frames and glasses. 
Examine onion and other stores. 

Fruit Garden. — Sow the fruit stones that have till now been kept 
in sand ; cut old wood from raspberries, begin pruning. Plant wall 
^md other trees, dig among trees, plant stocks. 



334 



KALENDAR. 



Flower Garden. — Pull up dead flowers^ and tie up those that 
blossom where wanted: protect tender flowers^ auriculas, &c., from 
wet and frost. Plant bulbs, hardy biennials and perennials, shrubs 
and trees, as last month, if dry weather j prepare shrubs for forcing, 
as China roses, Persian lilac, &c. Attend to the grass lawns and 
verges, sweep up leaves, and pole down wormcasts ; turn gravel walks 
if weedy or mossy. Take up dahlia roots, and place them secure 
from frost. 

Forcing Ground. — Attention required as last month, but nothing new 
to be done, except making beds for asparagus ; and forcing seacale. 

Green-House. — Air and water as required, but more sparingly ; 
prune and clean, pot bulbs for forcing. 

DECEMBER. 

Kitchen Garden. — Sow radishes on heat, or on warm borders, cover 
peas and beans. Planting ought to have all been done before. Weed, 
hoeing is now of little use ; protect from frost endive, celery, and what 
you can. Attend to lettuces and cauliflowers under glass as last month; 
tie endive when dry ; earth up all celery pretty closely. Hedge, ditch, 
and drain as wanted, dig, trench, and manure vacant land. 

Fruit Garden. — Whatever was done last month may be done this, 
except pruning, which may as well be deferred, according to convenience. 

Flower Garden. — Nothing can be usefully sown or planted ; pro- 
tect tender shrubs and plants by matting them, or straw, cover bulbs 
from frost, dress and dig flower borders and shrubberies ; protect 
flowers as last month. 

Forcing Ground. — All is nearly dormant here, force asparagus 
and seacale, prepare for sowing cucumbers. 

Green-House. — Protect by fires from damp and frost, give air on 
mild days. 



■» 



CLASSIFICATION OF SHRUBS. 



Flowering trees and shrubs of from twenty to forty feet high, and proper 
for the back part of shrubberies. — Catalpa, Cedar, Lime, Locust, Loblol- 
ly-bay, Oleaster, Pawpaw, Pistachio-tree, Service-tree^ true and bas- 
tard ; Snowdrop-tree, Tulip-tree, Horse-chesnut. 

Shrubs of from ten to twenty feet high 3 proper for the middle of shrub- 
beries. — Cashiobury thorn. Lilac, Magnolias, grandiflora tripetella, pur- 
purea and acuminata, Ziziphus, Rose-acacia, Bladder-nut, Cypress-tree, 
Laburnum, several sorts ; Dogwood, two sorts ; Gordonia pubescens, 
Georgia bark. Guelder-rose, Almond, Cherry, several sorts 5 Scarlet 
Chesnut, Double-liowering Apple 3 flowering Gooseberry, several 
sorts. 

Shrubs of from five to ten feet high ; and proper for the outer rows of 
shrubberies ; for the lawns and parterres. — Indigo, the shrubby bastard j 
Jasmin, Koelreuteri a, Magnolia Glauca, Privet, Sea Buckthorn, Spindle- 
tree, St. John's Wort, the hairy 3 Arbutus, Sumac, Syringa, Tamarisk, 
Trefoil, shrubby; Laurel, Silver-leaved Almond, Double flowering 
Almond, Carolina Allspice, Althea Frutex, Barberry, Bladder-senna, 
three sorts ; Broom, white and yellow ; Buckthorn, Box, Bird cherry. 
Double flowering Cherry, Fontanesia, Rhododendron, Oleander^ the 
small flowering ; Laurestine, Roses, standard 3 Gum-cistus, Golden 
Gooseberry. 

Shrubs of from one foot to five feet high ; and proper for the edges of 
shrubberies ; for small grass-plats, and to mix with herbaceous flowers in 
borders. — Alexandrian Laurel, Symphoricarpos, Mezereon, Rest Har- 
row, Jerusalem Sage, Scorpion Senna, Spiraea, several sorts 3 Helian- 
themum, many sorts ; Widow wail, Dwarf Almond, Fruitful Calycan- 
thus. Marsh Andromeda, Silvery Anthyllis, Azaleas, white, red, and 
yellow ; Candle-berry Myrtle, Dwarf American Cherry, Shrubby Diotis. 
Fuchsia, Geranium, Roses, Kahnia, Large-flowering St. John's Wort. 

Trailing and climbing shrubs proper to hide walls, or other naked places. 
— Clematis, Caper bush, Honeysuckle, Flowering Bramble, Large- 
flowering St. John's Wort, Ivy, Irish and Common 3 Periwinkle, Jas- 
min, Passion-flower, Trumpet-flower. 

Evergreen shrubs • proper to mix in the shrubbery, or to form winter 
pleasure-grounds. — Arbutus, Hare's-ear, Red Cedar, Laurel, Common, 
Portugal, and Alexandrian ; Oleander, Privet, Evergreen Thorn, Live 
Oak, Thuja, Rhododendron, Laurestine, Rose Chinese 3 Magnolia 
Grandiflora, Box, Cistus, Mezereon, St. John's Wort, Cypress. 

Green-house shrubs. — Myrtle, Olive-tree, Orange-tree, Oleander, 
Large-flowering Pomegranate, Psorolea, Vervain, Widow-wail, Gera- 
nium, Bread-tree, Camellia Japonica, Climbing Cobea. 



CLASSIFICATION OF FLOWERS. 



Tall growing flowers proper for the hack part of flower -borders. — Con- 
volvulus Major, Dahlia, Gzx.ve., Golden-rod, Hollyhock, Honeysuckle, 
Hop, Mullein, Nasturtium, Palma Christi, Pea, Sun-flower. 

Flowers of middling stature ; proper for the middle of flower-horders, and 
to mix with low-growing shrubs. — Aconite, Asphodel, Campanula Pyi ami- 
d;il ; Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Chelone, Coral tree. Coreopsis, 
Columbine, Fritillary, Hellebore, Honesty, Iris, Lavatera, Leopard's- 
Bane, Lily, Lobelia, Loose-strife, Lupine, Lychnis, Marvel-of-Peru, 
Marigold, Master-wort, Pea, Phlox, Poppy^, Silphium, Soapwort, 
Sun- flower. Thistle, Valerian, Vernonia, Willow herb. 

Flowers of from two inches to two feet high; proper border flmoers. — 
Adonis, Amaryllis, yellow ; Anemone, Archangel, Aster, Auricula, Bal- 
sam, Barren-wort, Birth-wort, Bulbocodium, Caltrops, Campanula, 
Canterbury-bell, Campion, Candy-tuft, Catchfly, Centaury, Cineraria, 
Cistus, Colchicum (Hound's-tongue), Convolvulus Minor, Cowslip, 
Corn-flcig, Crepis, Crocus, Cyclamen, Dafifodil, Dragon's head, Daisy, 
Devil-in-a-bush, Foxglove, Fraxinella, Fumatory, Germander, Globe- 
flower, Goldy locks, Hawkweed, Hellebore, Hyacinth, Hepatica, 
Larkspur, Lily of the Valley, Lobelia, Mad-wort, Marigold, Monarda, 
Narcissus, Nasturtium, Red Nettle, CEnothera, Onosma, Pansey, Petu- 
nia, Pink, Polyanthus, Poeony, Primrose, Ranunculus, Rocket, Ring- 
flower, Rose Campion, Sand-wort, Saxifrage, Scabious, Snap-dragon, 
Solomon's seal, Soldanella, Spider-wort, Stock, Strawberry blite. 
Thrift, Tiger-flower, Tulip, Vetch, Violet, Wall-flower, Wood-sorrel, 
Xeranthemum, Zinnia, Ziziphora. 

Flowers that like moist or swampy situations ; proper for the edges of 
ponds or rivulets. — Avens, Marsh Trefoil, Flowering Rush, Marsh 
Marigold, Monkey flower. 

Water-flowers. — Lily, white and yellow. 

Green house and Frame flowers. — Amaryllis, Bear's Ear, Cacalia, Cac- 
tus, Coris, Cyclamen, Dslichos Purpureus, Egg-plant, Indian Fig, 
Globularia, Ipomea, Ixia, Sida, Squill, Tuberose, Rose, Vervain. 



t 



1 iN D E X, 



Note, — The figures refer to paragraphs. 



AiTON, Mr. 201 
Aldbury, 19 
Annulary incision, 251 
Ants, 299 
Apple, 261 
Apricot, 262 
Arching, 257 
Artichoke, 119 
Asparagus, 120 
Balm, 121 
Basil, 122 
Bean, 123, 124 
Beet, 125 
Broccoli, 126 
Brussels sprouts, 127 
Burnet, 128 
Bacon, Lord, 10 
Barberry, 263 
Birds, 295 

Books, the, on gardening, 10 

Box, 42 to 44 

Black grub, 305 

Brown, Sir A., 19 

Bush form, 255 

Bug, the peach, 2<J;> 

Buds, 204 

Budding, 212 to 218 
Borage, 198 
Cabbage, 129 
Calabash, 130 
Cale, 131 
Cale, sea, 132 
Camomile, 133 
Capsicum, 134 
Caraway, 135 
Carrot, 136 
Cauliflower, 137 
Celery, 138 
Chervil, 139 
Chives, 140 
Coriander, 141 
Corn, 142 
Corn-salad, 143 
Cress, 144 
Canker, 288 
Caterpillar, 301 
Cotton-blight, 298 
Cucumber, 145 

Cultivation, 59 to 64, 103 to 117 
Curwen, Mr., 110 



Cuttings, 203 
Chilworth, 19 
Chantilly, 314 
Comble, M. de, 299 
Cobham, 285 
Dill, 146 

Diseases of trees, 287 
Drummond, Mr. H., 19 
Ear-wig, 308 
Edgings, 41 

Eden, Sir Frederick, 31i 

Enclosing, 30 to 55 

Endive, 147 

Espalier, 258, 259 

Epsom Down, 314 

Evelyn, Sir P., 19 

Farnham, 14 

Fennel, 148 

Fencing, 30 to 35 

Flowers, Alphabetical list of, 413 

, borders of, 411 

, beds of, 411 

, propagation and cultiva- 
tion of, 412 
Fitzwilliams, Sir William, 14 
Form of garden, 28, 29 
Flies, 360 
Forsyth, Mr., 299 
Flowers, 321 
Garlick, 149 
Gourd, 150 

Green-houses, 56 to 58 

Goblet form, 254 

Gravel walks, 40 313 

Grass short, 314 

Garden, situation for, 13 to 10 

, soil for, 20 to 27 

, form of, 28, 29 



fences for, 30 to 35 
laying out of, 35 to 46 



Grafting, 206 to 211 
Gum, 292 

Hampton Court, 285 
Half-standard, 256 
Hedges, 32 to 35, 39 
Hot-beds, 49 to 55 
Hunter, Orby, 14 
Hortus Kewensis, 261 



z 



338 



INDEX. 



Hop, 151 

Horse-radish, 162 
Hysop, 153 
Huckleberry, 272 
Jerusalem Artichoke, 154 
Knives, pruning, 225 
Layers, 202 
Lavender, 155 
Leek, 156 
Lettuce, 157 
Long Island, 259 
Lice, 291 
Manure, 26 
Maggot, 294 
Marshall, Mr., 82, 206 
Missing, Mr., 115 
Moles, 298 
Montreuil, 247 
Mildew, 290 
Mice, 296 

Mangel Wurzel, 158 
Marjorum, 159 
Marigold, 160 
Mint, 162 
Mushroom, 163 
Mustard, 164 
Nailing, 250 
Nasturtium, 165 
Onion, 166 

Orleans, the Duke of, 314 
Orchards, 259 
Painshill, 259 
Parsley, 167 
Parsnip, 168 
Pea, 169 
Pennyroyal, 170 
Potato, 171 
Pumpkin, 172 
Purslane, 173 
Planting, 219 
Piatt, Mr., 259 

Propagation, 59 to 64, 199 to 204 

Pruning, 222 to 249 

Pyramid form, 253 

Radish, 174 

Rampion, 175 

Rape, 176 

Rhubarb, 177 

Raspberry, 282 

Rats, 297 

Rich, Sir Robert, 14 
Richardson, Mr., 225 



Roots, their extent, 210 

Rook-worm, 304 

Rosemary, 178 

Rue, 179 

Rutabaga, 180 

Salt, 27 

Sage, 181 

Salsafy, 182 

Samphire, 182 

Savory, 184 

Savoy, 185 

Scorzenera, 186 

Shalot, 187 

Skirret, 188 

Sorrel, 189 

Spinage, 190 

Squash, 191 

Seed, 65 to 84 

Service, 283 

Slips, 201 

Stocks, 205 

Spider, 300 

Situation for a garden, 14 to 19 
Snail, 302 
.Slug, 303 
Swift, 259 

Shrubs, Alphabetical list of 

Sowing, 85 to 95 

Standard- trees, 260 

Soil, 20 to 27 

Shrubberies, 312 

Tansey, 192 

Tarragon, 193 

Thyme, 194 

Tomatum, 195 

Turnip, 196 

Training trees, 222 

Transplanting, 96 to 102 

Trenching, 23 

Tull, Mr. 10, 110, 205 

Vermin, 287 

Vine, 285 

Voltaire, M. de, 11 

Walks, 40, 313 

Walnut, 28 

Wasps, 309 

Waverley Abbey, IS 

Walls, 29 

Weeds, 205 

Wire-worm, 306 

Wood-louse, 307 

Wormwood, 197 



BENSLfiV, PRINTER, PHIPPS-BRIDGE, MITCHAM 



COBBETT lilBflABir; 

PUBLISHED BY A. COBBETT, 137, STRAND, LONDON, 
AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 

# 

A GRAMMAR of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE; 

With Six Lessons to prevent Statesmen from using False Grammar. 
By Wm. Cobbett. Price 3^. 

A FRENCH GRAMMAR. 

By the same. 5s. 

COTTAGE ECONOMY. 

Containing Information relative to Brewing, Baking, Keeping Cows, Pigs, Sheep, 
Bees, Goats, Poultry, ^c. By the same. '2s. 6d. 

A SPELLING-BOOK; 

With a Stepping-stone to English Grammar. By the same. 2^. 

A GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY of ENGLAND and WALES. 

This Book contains the Name of every City, Borough, Village, and Hamlet, in 
I England and Wales : their Distances from London and from the principal Towns 
' near them ; Population and Quality. With Skeleton Maps of the Counties, and 
Statistical Tables. By the same. 12^. 

HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 3 

And of the Church of England. By the same. Two vols. 10s. 

YEARS RESIDENCE IN AMERICA. 

By the same. 5s. 

TWELVE SERMONS, 

On various subjects. By the same. 3s. 6d. 

THE ENGLISH GARDENER; 

With Calendar for every Month. By the same. 6s. 

ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN, 

And incidentally to Young Women. By the same. 55. 

A NEW FRENCH and ENGLISH DICTIONARY. 

By the same. 12^. 

PAPER AGAINST GOLD ; or. The History of the Bank. 

By the same. 5s. 

THE WOODLANDS; 

A Treatise on Rearing and Planting Forest Trees. By the same. 145. 
TOUR IN SCOTLAND, in the Year 1832. By the same. <^s. 6d. 
EMIGRANT'S GUIDE to AMERICA. By the same. 2s. 6d. 
POOR MAN'S FRIEND j a Defence of the Rights of the Poor. 8d. 
MANCHESTER LECTURES; 

Or, Propositions for the Relief of the Country. By the same. 25. 6d. 
ROMAN HISTORY, to accompany the French Grammar. 6s. 
RURAL RIDES in ENGLAND. By the same. 55. 
THE CURSE OF PAPER-MONEY. 

By W. GouGB. Repiiblished, with Preface, by Mr. Cobbett. 4*. 



2 



THE COBBETT LIBRARY. 



TULL'S HORSE-HOEING HUSBANDRY; 

With Preface by Mr. Cobbett. 155. 

MARTENS' LAW OF NATIONS. 

Translated from the French, by Mr. Cobbett. 175. 

CORN BOOK; 

A Treatise on the Cultivation of the Dwarf Maize. By Mr. Cobbett. 5s. 

EQUITABLE ADJUSTMENT; 

An Answer to Mr. Wortley's Pamphlet, the " True Award," ^c. By the same. 2*. 

USURY LAWS; 

A Treatise on the Mischief of Lending at Interest. By the Rev. J. O'Callaghan. 
Republished by Mr. Cobbett. 3*. 6d. 

HISTORY of the REGENCY and REIGN of GEORGE IV . 

By Mr. Cobbett. lOs. 6d. 

LEGACY TO LABOURERS; 

Showing the Rights of the Poor. By the same. Is. Ad, 

LEGACY to PARSONS. By Mr. Cobbett, I5. 6rf. 
A GRAMMAR of the ITALIAN LANGUAGE. 

By James P. Cobbett. 6s. 

A GRAMMAR of the LATIN LANGUAGE. 

By the same. 35. 

TOUR in ITALY. By the same. 45. 6d. 
RIDE IN FRANCE. By the same. 25. 6d. 
LETTERS FROM FRANCE. 

By John M. Cobbett. 4^. 

EXERCISES to the FRENCH GRAMMAR of Mr. COBBETT. 

By James P. Cobbett. 28. 

LIFE OF ANDREW JACKSON, 

President of America. Republished from an American Work, by Mr. Cobbett. 3^. 

TWOPENNY TRASH. 

Complete in 2 vols. By Mr. Cobbett. 

THE ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER; 

Or, MANUAL of DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT ; containing Advice on the 
Conduct of Household Affairs ; with Hints on Gardening, ^c. For the Use of 
Young Ladies. By Miss Cobbett. 

The Price of the whole in hds. lOl. 6s. Od. 

ALSO, 

SELECTIONS from COBBETT'S POLITICAL WORKS. 

Being a Complete Abridgment of the 100 Volumes which comprise the writings of 
" Porcupine," and the " Weekly Political Register" (from 1794 to 1835) ; with 
Notes Historical and Explanatory. By John M. Cobbett and James P. Cobbett. 
In Six Volumes, with a complete Analytical Index to the whole. The Index 
to this work gives it an advantage over the original one, which being without 
any general index, and the indexes to the volumes being scanty, where there are any, 
and being omitted in a great many of the volumes, is, in fact, a work very difficult to 
refer to. The great object of the editors of this abridgment has been to preserve a 
series of the best papers of Mr. Cobbett'h writings, and to render them easily referred 
to by a General Analytical Index. The price of the Six Volumes 8vo. is 21. 10s. bds, 



N. B. All the Books undermentioned, are published hv 
A. Cobhett, at No. 137, Strand, London-, and ai< 
to he had of M\ Willis, Manchester, Thos. Hojne^ 
Neiccastle-vpon'Tyne, and all other Booksellers. 



SELECTIONS 

FROM 

COBBISTT'S POI-ITZCAZ. : 

BEING 

A Complete Ahridgment of the 100 J olumes which comprn,.- 
the writings of" Porcupine/' and the "Weekly Politica u 
Register" {from 1794 to 1835). 

WITH NOTES, HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY. 

BY JOHN M. COBBETT AND JAMES P. COBBETi . 

Is now published, in Six Volumes, 8vo, with a CoMPLi^Tft 
Analytical Index to the whole. The Index to this work gives 
it an advantage over the original one, which, being without any 
general index, and the indexes to the volumes being scanty, where 
there are any, and being omitted in a great many of the volumes, 
is, in fact, a work very difficult to refer to. The great object of 
the editors of this abridgment has been, to preserve a series ot 
the best papers of Mr. Cobbett's writings, and to render then; 

j easily referred to by a General Analytical Index. The price of 

I the six volumes 8vo. is 21. lOs. boards. 



THE 

C03B£:TT-Z.SBIIAXI^» 



When I am asked vi'hat books a young man or youu,^ 
i woman ought to read, I always ansAver, Let him or he* 
read all the books that I have written. This does, it will 
doubtless be said, S7nell of the shop. No matter. It Is 
j what I recommended ; and experience has taught me thai 
it is my duty to give the recommendation. 1 am speakiog 
here of books other than THE REGISTER; and eveu 
these, that I call my LIBRARY, consist of thirty-nine 
distinct books ; two of them being translations ; seven 
of them being written r.Y my sons; one (Tull's Hu?^ 
bandry) revised and edited, and one published by me, aiKx 
written by the Rev. Mr. O'Callagiian , a most virtuoi! * 
Catholic Priest. I divide these books into classes, a? fal- 



2 



List of Mr. Cobbett's Books. 



lows: 1. Books for Teaching Language; 2. On Do* 
HESTic Management and Duties; 3. Oa Rural 
Affairs: 4. On the ]\L\nagement of National 
Affairs; 5. History; 6. Travels; 7. Laws; ^. 
Miscellaneous Politics. Here is a great variety of 
subjects; and all of them very dry : nevertheless the manner 
of treating them is, in general, such as to induce the 
reader to go throvgh the hook, when he has once begun it. 
I will now speak of each book separately under the several 
heads above-mentioned. N. B. All the books are bound in 
hoards, which will be borne in mind when the price is 
looked at.— W.C. 



1. BOOKS FOR TEACHING KNOWLEDGE. 

EN-GZ.XSH SP£X.X.rN-a-BOOX. 

] have been frequently asked by mothers of families, by ^me 
fathers, and by some schoolmasters even, to write a book tbat 
they could begin teaching by ; one that should begin at the begin- 
ning of book learning, and smooth the way along to my own 
English Grammar, which is the entrance-gate. J often promised 
to comply with these requests, and, from time to time, in the in- 
tervals of political heats, I have tliought of the thing, till, at last, 
I found time enough to sit down and put it upon paper. The ob- j^'' 
jection to the common spelling-books is, that the writers aim at j*^ 
teaching several important sciences in a little book in which the 
whole aim should be the teaching of spetl'mg Rud reading. We'"* 
are presented with a little Arithmetic, a little Astronowy, a ^ 
little Geographv, and a good deal of Religion ! No wonder the 
poor little things imbibe a hatred of books in the first that they 
look into! Disapproving heartily of these books,! have care- if" 
fully abstained from every-thing beyond the object in view; namely, I 
the teaching of a child to spell ana read ; and this work 1 have ^ 
made as pleasant as I could, by introducing such stories as children r' 
most delight in, accompanied by those little wood-cut illustrations i"" 
•which amuse them. At the end of the book there is a Stepping' i*^ 
stone to the English Grammar." it is but a step ; it is designed 
to teach a child the different paj-is of speech, and the use of point 
•with one or two small matters of the kind. The book is in the 
duodecimo form, contains 176 pa^esof print, and the price is 1#.6<Z^^ 
— W. C. 

COBBETT'S ENGLISH GRAMMAR. (PnVeS*:)— This work 
is in a series of letters addressed to my son James, when he was 
14 years old. I made him copi/ the whole of it before it weiit to, 
.press; and that made him a grammarian at once: and iipw atiJe 
a ©DC it made him will ten by his own Grammar of the Ita» 



List of Mr. Cobbett's Books. 



3 



>iAN Language, his Ride in Francf., and liis Tour in Italv. 
ill There are at the end of this Grammar *' Six Lessons intended to 
,j prevent Statesnien from using false grammar : " and I really wish 
1 1 Chat our statesmen would attend to the instructions of the whole 
{'I oook. Thousands upon thousands of young- men have been made 
t correct writers by it ; and, it is next to impossible that they should 
1 have read with attention without its producing such effect. It is a 
, book of principles, clearly laid down ; and when once these are 
got into the mind they never quit it. More than 100,000 of this 
I' work have been sold. — W. C. 
kl 

I FXtZSZO-CH dtAianXAXt. 

4| COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR {Price 5^.) ; or. Plain 
Instructions for the Learning of French. — This book has had, and 

|| has, a very great effect in the producing of its object. More young 

! men have, 1 dare say, learned French froni it, than from all the 
j j other books that have been published in English for the last fifty 

'! years. It is, like the former, a book of principles, clearly laid 
I down. I had this great advantage, too, that I had learnt French 
without amaster. 1 had grubbed it out, bit by bit, and knew well 
^ how to remove all the dijficulties 1 remembered what it was that 
L had puzzled and retarded me ; and I have taken care, in this my 
J Grammar, to prevent the reader from experiencing that which, in 
J this respect, I experienced myself. This Grammar, as well as the 
[, former, is kept out of schools, owing to the fear that the masters 
. and mistresses have of being looked upon as Cobbettites. So 

; much the worse lor the children of the stupid brutes who are the 
cause oi this fear, which sensible people laugh at, and avail them- 
If selves of the advantages tendered to them in the books, leaching 
\^ French in English Schools is, generally, a mere delusion ; and as 
y to teaching the pronunciation by rules, it is the grossest of all 
J human absurdities. My knowledge of French was so complete 
^ thirty -seven years ago, that the very first thing in the shape of a 
L book that I wrote for the press, ^ was a Grammar to teach French- 
men English ; and of course it was written in French. 1 must 

J know all about these two languages; and must be able to give 
I advice to young people on the subject : their tiine is precious ; and 
I, 1 advise them not to waste it upon what are called lessons from 
L masters and mistresses. To learn the pronunciation, there is no 
j.1 way but that of hearing those, and speaking with those, who 
,[,1 speak the language well. My Grammar will do the rest. — W. C. 

I A. G-XCAXVXZaAXt OF THE ZTAIiXAKT ZiAKTC^XJ-AG-S 

M Or, a Plain and Compendious Introduction to the Study of Italian, 
j] By James Paul Cobhett. This work conlains explanations and 
jl examples to teach the language practically; and the principles of 
{i construction are illustrated by passages from the best Italian authors. 

I A XiATXir GXt.A2>ZMAB.> 
A LATIN GRAMMAR, for the Use of English Boys ; being 
an Explanation of the Rudiments of the Latin Language. By 
Tames Paul Cobbett. Price os. boards.] 



List of Mr. Cobeett's Books. 



FB.Sia-CH SXEItCXSSS, 

EXERCISES TO COBBETT'S FRENCH GRAMMAR {Price 
2s.) is just published. Jt is an accompanimeut to the French 
Grammar, and is necessary to the learner who has been diligent 
-n his reading of the Grammar. By James Cobbett. 

COBBETT'S FRENCH AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY.— ' 
This book is now published. Its price is \2s, in boards ; and it 
a thick octavo volume. 

6-SOGB.it.PKICia.I. BICTIONAR.Y OP E5a-GI.AK1> 
.fi-WD WiLI.ES. 

This book was suggested to me by my own frequent want of 
':he information which it contains ; a suggestion which, if every 
•:.orapiler did but wait to feel before he puts his shears to work, 
v/ould spare the world many a voluminous and useless book. lam 1 
constantly receivitig letters f)ut of the country, the writers living itt 'J* 
obscure places, but who seldom think of giving more than the name J? 
•)fthe place that they w rite from ; and thus have I been often puzzled * * 
"o death to find out even the co^;//f// in Avhich it is, before I could re- 
'urii an answer. I one day determined, therefore, for my own con- 
venience, to have a list made out of every parish in the kingdom ; 
out this being done, I found that I had still townships and hamlets 
zo add in order to malce my list complete ; and when I had got the 
.rork only half done, I found it a book ; and that, with the addition 
af bearing, and pojiulation, and distance from the next market- 
town, or if a market-town, from London, it would be a really use- 
ful Geographical Dictionary . It is a work vrliich the learned would 
'CdiW sui generis ; it prompted itself into life, and it has grown in 
;Tiy hands ; but I will here insert the whole of the title-page, for 
■".bat contains a full dp=rriptM)n of the book. It is a thick octaw 
rolume, price 125'. — C. 

A GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF ENGLAND AND i^, 

= ' WALES; containing the names, in Alphabetical Order, of all the | 

" Counties, with their several Subdivisions into 11 uudreds, Lathes, \^ 

Rapes, Wapentakes, ^^'ards, or Divisions ; and an Account of || 

the Distribution of tlie Counties into Circuits, Dioceses, and L 

*' Pariiamentary Divisionc. Also, the names (under that of each l| 

County respectively), in Alphabetical Order, of all the Cities, | ^ 

Boroughs, Market Tow ns, Villages, Hamlets, andTitbings, with ".j- 



tbe Distance of each from London, or from the nearest Market . 

Town, and with the Population, and other interesting particulars ' " 
^* relating to each ; besides which there areMAPS ; first, one of the 

whole cuuntry, showing the local situation of the Counties rela- 
'* tively to each other; and, then, each County is also preceded by 

a Ma]), showing, in the same manner, the local situation of the 

Cities, Boroughs, and Market Towns. FOUR TABLES are ^ 
* added ; first, a Statistical Table of all the Counties; and then ^ Ij 
^* three Tables, showing the new Divisions and Distributions en- ^ Ti 

acted bv the Refortn-Law^ of 4th June, 18:^2." "'a 



List of Mr. Cobjitt's Books. 5 



2. BOOKS ON DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT AND 
DUTIES. 

COTTAGS SGOTTOlMrS-. 

COBBETT'S COTTAGE ECONOMY {Price 2s. 6d.) ; con- 
taining- iiiforrnation relative to the brewiug- of Beer, making' of 
Bread, keeping: of Cows, Pigs, Bees, Ewes, Goats, Poultry, and 
Rabbits, and relative to other matters deemed useful iu the con- 
ducting: of the Affairs of a Labourer's Family; lo which are added, 
instructions relative to the selecting, the cutting and the bleaching 
I of the Plants of English Grass and Grain, for the purpose of mak- 
ing Hats and Bonnets ; and also Instructions for erecting and using 
Ice-houses, after the Virginian manner. — In my oivn estimation, the 
book that stands first is Poor Man's Frkekd ; and the one that 
stands next is this Cottage Economy ; and beyond all description 
is the pleasure 1 derive from reflecting on the number of /ia/>/)?/ 
families that this little book must have made. I dined in company 
with a lady in Worcestershire, who desired to see me on account oi 
this book ; and she told me that until she read it, she knew nothing 
at all about these two great matters, the making of bread and of 
heer ; but that from the moment she read the book, she began to 
teach her servants, and that the benefits were very great. But, to 
the labouring people, there are the arguments in favour of good 
conduct, sobriety, frugality, industry, all the domestic virtues ; here 
are the reasons for all these ; and it must be a real devil in human 
shape, who does not applaud the man who could sit down to write 
this book, a copy of which every parson ought, upon pain of loss of 
1 ears, to present to every girl that he marries, rich or poor. — C» 

ADVXCS TO TOU-NCt mSIff, 

COBBETT'S ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN, and (incidentally) 
t4> Young FFbme7i, in the middle aiid higher Ranks of Life {Price bs.) 
It was published in 14 numbers, and is now in one vol. complete. 

SSItmOK-S. 

COBBETT'S SERMONS {Price Zs. 6d.)— There are 13 of them 
on the following subjects : 1. Hypocrisy and Cruelty ; 2, Drunk- 
enness; 3. Bribery; 4. The Rights of the Poor ; 5. Unjust Judges.; 
6. The Sluggard; 7. Murder; 8. Gaming; 9. Public Robbery; 
16. The Unnatural Mother; 11. Forbidding Marriage ; 12. Parsons 
and Tithes ; 13. Good Friday ; or, God's J^idgment on the Jews, — 
More of these Sermons have been sold than of the Sermons ol 
all the Church-parsons put together since mine were published. 
There are some parsons w ho have the good sense and the virtue to 
' preach them from the pulpit. — W. C. 

K 3. BOOKS ON RURAL AFFAIRS. 

Tir:LX.'S HITSBAiriDXt-S-. 

COBBETT'S EDITION OF TULL'S HUSBANDRY {Price 
15s.): THE HORSE-HOEING HUSBANDRY; or, A Trea« 
TisE on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation, wherein is 
I tauglxt a Method of introducing a sort of Vinevard Culture into 



6 



List of Mr. Cobeett's Books. 



the CoRN-FiELDS, in order to increase their Product and diminish 
the coainion Expense. By Jethro Tull, of Shalborne, in the 
county of Berks. To which is prefixed. An Introduction, expla- 
Batory of some Circumstances connected with the History and Di- 
vision of the Work ; and containing an Account of certain Experi- 
ments of recent date, by William Cobbett. — From this famous 
book 1 learned all my principles relative to farming, gardening, i 
and planting. It really, without a pun, goes to the root of the sub- i 
ject. Before I read this book I had seen enough of effects, but ,' 
S-eally knew nothing about the causes. It contains the fouudatioa j 
©f all knowledge in the cultivation of the earth. — W. C. i 

COBBETT'S YEAR'S RESIDENCE IN AMERICA, WITH } 
A MAP {Price 5s.) ; treating of the Face of the Country, the f 
Climate, the Soil, the Products, the Mode of Cultivating the Land, i 
the Prices of Land, of Labour, of Food, of Raiment; of the Ex- 
penses of Housekeeping, and of the usual Manner of Living; of 
the Manners and Customs of the People ; and of the Institutions of | 
the Country, Civil, Political, and Religious; in three Parts. — The | 
Map is a map of the United States. The book contains a Journal \ 
of the Weather for one whole year ; and it has an account of ray 
farming in that country ; and also an account of the causes of poor 
Birkheck's failure m his undertaking. A book very necessary to | 
all men of property who emigrate to the United States. — W. C. | 

COBBETT'S ENGLISH GARDENER {Price &s.) ; or, A Trea- 
tise on the Situation, Soil, Enclosing and Laying-out of Kitchen-.jj 
Gardens ; on the Making and Managing of Hot-Beds and Green- ijj 
Houses ; and on the Propagation and Cultivation of all sorts of I 
Kitchen-Garden Plants, and of Fruit-Trees, whether of the Garden 
or the Orchard. And also on the Formation of Shrubberies and 
Flower-Gardens ; and on the Propagation and Cultivation of the |j 
several sorts of Shrubs and Flowers; concluding with a Kalen- i| 
DAR, giving Instructions relative to the Sowings, Plantings, Prun- p 
ings, and other labours, to be performed in the Gardens, in each ij 
Month of the Year. — A complete book of the kind. A plan of a |l 
kitchen-garden, and little plates to explain the works of pruning, j| 
graffing, and budding. But it is here, as in all my books, the i I 
principles that are valuable : it is a knowledge of these that fills | 
ihe reader with delight in the pursuit. J wrote a Gardener foi l 
America, and the vile wretch who pirated it there had the base- I 
ness to leave out the dedication. No pursuit is so rational as thiSj ! 
as an amusement or relaxation, and none so innocent and so use« 
ful. It naturally leads to early rising ; to sober contemplation : 
and is conducive to health. Every young man should be a gar* 
tiener, if possible^ whatever else may be his pursuits. — W. C. 

COBRErr'S WOODLANDS {Price 14s.) ; or, A TreAtiSe -^ | 
the Preparing of Ground for Planting ; on the Planting ; on th<J i 
t^ultivating J vn the PruniBgi «iid on the Cutting aown of Forest 



^LisT OF Mr. Cobbett's Books. 



;Trees and Underwoods ; describing the usual Growth and Size and 
^ The Uses of each sort of Tree, the Seed of each, the Season and 
I ' Manner of collecting the Seed, the Manner of Preserving and Sow- 
"iing it, and also the Manner of Managing the Young Plants until fit 
; to plant out ; the Trees heign arranged in Alphabetical Order, and 
the List of them, including those of America as well as those of 
England, and the English; French, and Latin name being prefixed 
" to the Directions relative to each Tree respectively. — This work 
"rakes every tree at ITS SEED, and carries an account of it to the 
I cuttings down and converting to itsuses. — W. C. 
il 

COBBETT'S CORN-BOOK [Price bs.) ; or, A Treatise on 
I Cobbett's Corn : containing Instructions for Propagating and 
Cultivating the Plant, and for Harvesting and Preserving the 
i Crop ; and also an Account of the several Uses to which the Pro- 
1 duce is applied, with Minute Directions relative to each Mode of 
^ Application. — This edition I sell at 5s. that it may get into nu- 
I merous hands. 1 have had, eveu tlt'is year^ a noble crop of this 
corn and 1 undertake to pledge myself, that this corn will be in 
j general cultivation in England, in two or three years from this 
time, in spite of all that fools and malignant asses can say against 
it. When I get time to go out into the country, amongst the la- 
bourers in Kent, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, and Behks, who are 
now more worthy oi encouragement and good living than they evcF 
were, though they were always excellent; 1 promise myself the 
pleasure of seeing this beautiful crop growing in all their gardens, 
and to see every man of them once more with a bit of meat on hi^ 
' table and in his satcheii, instead of the infamous -potato . — W. C. 



i' 4. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS. 

i 

COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD {Price bs.) ; or, the 
History and Mystery of the Bank of England, of the Debt, of 
the Stocks, ofthe Sinking Fund, and of all the other tricks and con- 
trivances carried on by the means of Paper- Money. — This is the 
tenth edition of this work, which will, I trust, be admired long after 
the final destruction of the horrible system which it exposes. It is 
the A, B, C, of paper-money learning. Every young man should 
read it with attention. — W. C. 

TB£ GiriLSi: OF PAP£Xs.-i2^oia-z:v> 

THE CURSE OF PAPER-MONEY ; showing the Evil* pro- 
duced in America by Paper-Money, By William Gouge; and 
Reprinted, with a Prefacey by William Cobbett, M.P. Price 4s, 



8 



List of Mr. Cobbett's Books. 



FOUR LETTER TO THE HON. JOHN STUARl 
WORTLEY, in Answer to his " Brief Inquiry into the Trui 
Award of an E(|uitable Adjustment between the Nation and it 
Creditors." Price 2s. 

COBBETT'S RURAL RIDES. {Price 5.?.)— RURAL RIDES i, 
the Counties of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshii-e 
Giaucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Somersetshire 
Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Essex, Suftblk, Norfolk, and Hertford- 
shire : with Economical and Political Observations relative Xu 
Matters applicable to, and illustrated by, the State of those Coun-' ^ 
ties respectively. — These rides were performed on /io?-se&«<;ft. T 
the members of the Government had read them, only just reai^ 
them, last year, when they were collected and printed in a volume,', 
they cowZrf 7^o^ have helped foreseeing; all the violences that havt 
taken place, and especially in these very counties; and fore- 
seeiagthem, they must have been devils in reality if they had nol 
done something to prevent them. This is such a book as siatesmer! 
oi>ght to read. — W. C. | 

POOB, mAHT'S FXtXSSSTB. 

COBBETT'S POOR MAN'S FRIEND (Price Sd.) ; or, aDe i, 
fence of the Rights o fthose who do the Work and fight the Battles, 
— This is my tivourite work. I bestowed more labour upon it than 
upon any large volume that I ever wrote. Here it is proved, that, 
according ic all laws, divine as well as human, no one is to die 
with hunge lam stan abundance o Ifood. — W. C. 

SMXGZtAlO-T'S GVIBX:. 

COBBETl'S EMIGRANT'S GUIDE {Price 2s. 6rf.) ; in Ten 
Letters addressed to the Taxpayero of England; containing 
information of every kind^ necessary to persons who are about to 
emigrate ; including several]authentic and most interesting letters 
ffom English Emigrants now in America, to their relations in 
England; and an accoun the prices of House and Land, recently 
obtained from America by Mr. C(pbbett. A New Edition. — Here 
all the information is contained that any one going to the United 
States of Jmerica can want, down to the most minute particulars ; 
aad here it is shown, that a man, who does not wish to be starved, 
or to be a slave, ought nott oemigrate to any other country. — W. C. 

BSAirCHXSSTlIXt X.i:CTI7Zt£S. 

COBBETT'S MANCHESTER LECTURES. This is a smaU 
duodecimo volume {Price 2s. 6d.), and it contains Six Lectures 
that I delivered at Manchester in the Winter of 1831. In these 
Lectures I have gone fully into the state of the Country, and have 
put forth what I deem the proper remedie for that state. I have 
fully discussed the questions of Debt, Dead-Weight, Sinecures 
and Pensions, Church, Crown Lands, Army and Navy, and I defy 
all the doctors of political economy to answer me that book. It 
contains a statement of the propositions which, please God, I mean 
tom.ake as a ground-work of relief to our country. — W. C. 







to by a Genen ^ ... ^.v. jli,^ inn^c ui uiu oik v oiumes ovo. is 21. J Us. bds. 



I List of Mr. Cobeett's Books. 9 

I XTSUZLY Z.iLWS. 

i USURY LAWS {Price 'Ss. 6d.) ; or Lending at Interest; 
falso, the Exaction and Payuicut of certain Church-fees, such as 
Pew-rents, Burial-fees, and the like, together with forestalling 
Traffic; all proved to be repugnant to the Divine and Ecclesiastical 
^Law, and destructive to Civil Society. To \vhich is prefixed a 
,iNarrativeof the Controversy between the Author and Bishop Cop- 
muger, and of the sufferings of the former in consequence of his 
Adherence to the Truth. Bv the Rev. Jeremiah O'Callaghan, 
Roman Catholic Priest. With a Dedication to the *' Society of 
JFriends," by William Coubett.— Every young man should read 
' this book, the histori/ of which, besides the learned matter, is very 
curious. The " Jesuits," as they call them, in France, ought to 
jread this book ; and then tell the world how they can find the 
Ifudence to preach the Catholic Religion and to uphold the funding 
51 system at the same time. — W. C. 

TO I,ABOiriLER.S ; 
Or, What is the Right which the Lords, Baronets, and 'Squires, have 
to the Lands of England 1 In Six Letters, addressed to the 
Working People of England ; with a Dedication to Sir llobert 
Peel. By Wm. Coi3eett, M. P. for Oldham. Price, neatly 
loundy Sixteen-pence. 

ZiBGACV TO PARSOHS: 
Or, Have the Clergv of the Established Church an equitable right 
f to the Tithes, or to^any other thing culled Church Property, greater 
tlian the Dissenters have to the same ? And ought there, or ought 
there not, to be u separation of tlie Church from the State ? Li 5)ix 
Letters, addressed to the Church-Parsons in general, lucluding the 
Cathedral and College Clergv and the Bishops; with a Dedication 
to Blomtield, Bisliop of London. By Vvm. Cobbett, M. P. tor 
Oldliam. Third Edition. Price, neatly bound, Eighteen-pence. 



5. HISTORY. 

PB.OTBSTAKT " K.EPOB.»IATIOIiri" 

COBBETT'S HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT REFORM- 
\TION in England and Ireland {Price As. 6d.) ; showing how 
That Event has impoverished and degraded the main body of the 
People in those Countries : in a Series of Letters, addressed to all 
sensible and just Englishmen : also, PART 11. {Price Ss.Gd.) ; con- 
, taining a List of the Abbeys, Priories, Nunneries, Hospitals, and 
i other Religious Foundations, in England and Wales, and m Ire- 
i land, confiscated, seized on, or alienatetl, by the Protestant " Re- 
' formation " Sovereigns and Parliaments.— There are two Edi- 
tions, one in Duodecimo and one in Royal Octavo, each in two 
volumes. This is the book that has done the business of the 
I Established Church! This book has been translated into all the 
living languages, and there are two Stereotype Editions of it in 
f the United St-.tes of America. This is the source whence are now 
pouring in the jietitions for the abolition of tithes! — W. C- 



6. TRAVELS. 

MR. JOHN COBBETT'S LETTERS FROM FRANCE {Price 
As. 6d.) ; contaiuiiio- Observations on that Country during a Jour- 
ney from Calais to the South, as far as Limoges ; then back ta 
Pans; and then, after a Residence, from the Eastern parts of 
France, and through part of the Netherlands; commenciu<- iu 
April, and ending in December, 1824. 

MR. JAMES COBBETT'S RiDE OF EIGHT HUNDRED 
MILES IN FRANCE (the Third Edition, Price 2s. 6d.) ; contain- 
ing a Sketch of the Face of the Country, of its Rural Economy, of 
tlie Towns asd Villages, of Manufacturers aud Trade, and of such of 



10 List ov Mr. Cobbett's Books. j 

ROIVIAISr HZSTOltT. ' 

COBBEl I'S ROMAN HISTORY (Price 6s.) ; Vol. f. iu Ev- 
GL(SH and French, from the Foundation of Rome to the Battle 
of Actmm ; selected from the best Authors, ancient and modern, 
with a series of (Questions at the end of each chapter; for the use 
ot schools and young persons iu general. Vol. il. An Abridged 
History of the Emperors, in French and English : being a 
continuation of the History of the Roman Republic, published 
by the same Authors, on the same plan, for the use of schools and 
young persons in general—This work is in French and English, 
It IS intended as an E.rercise-book, to be used with rav French 
Urummary ^vA it is sold at a very low price, to place 'it within 
ttie reach of young men in general. As a history it is edifying. 
It IS necessary for every man Avho has anv pretensions to book- 
J^nowledge, to know something of the histoVy of that famous peo- 
ple ; and 1 think this is the best abridgment that ever was published. 
As an Exercise-book it is complete, the translation being as literal 
and simple as possible. It consists of two thick duodecimo volumes, 
and IS, therefore, as cheap as possible to avoid loss upon mere paper 
and print; but J wish it to be within the reach of great numbers of 
young men.— W. C. 

IiXFS OF AUTDZLEW JACKSOKT. 

c,itl?J^^^ ^^^^ OF ANDREW JACKSON, PRE- 

SlDENf OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, from 
hia Birth, m 1767, io the present time; with a Portrait. Abridged 
and compiled by William Cobbett, M.P. for Oldham. Price 
3s. bds. 

ZtSGS]»-CV A1T2> ItEIGTO- OF GSOZtCB IV»- 

r^p 9>'SS?.'^ HISTORY OF THE REGENCY AND REIGN 
A ^.^^^^^ IV.— This work is published iu Nos. at &d. each : 
and It does justice to the Jate " wtW and merciful'' King, 
i'nce, in boards, lu^. W. C. 

LAFAYETTE'S LIFE. {Price \s.) A brief Account of the Life 
ot that brave and honest man, translated from the French, by Mr. 
James Cobbett. 



to hy a Gcnen ^ |,iicc uie oix v oiumes ovo, is -j^l. jUs. bds. 



I 



LriST OF Mr. Ci(>BiETt''^ Books. 11 

. the Manners and Customs as materially differ from those of En"^- 
land ; also, an Account of the Prices of Laud, House^ Fuel, Food, 

j Raiment, Labour, and other Things, in different parts of the Coun- 
try ; the design being to exhibit a true Picture of the present State 

i! of the People of France ; to which is added, a General View of the 

I; Finances of the Kingdom. 

|l TOITB, m ZTiLXiV. 

MR. JAMES COBBETT'S TOUR IN ITALY, and also in 
1 Part of FRANCE and SWITZERLAND (Price 4*. Gd.) ; the 
} Route being from Paris through Lyons, to Marseilles, and thence 
to Nice, Genoa, Pisa, Florence, Rome, Naples, and Mount Vesu- 
, vius ; and by Rome, Terni, Perugia, Arezzo, Florence, Bologna, 
J Ferrara, Padua, Venice, Verona, Milan, over the Alps by Mount 
[i St. Bernard, Geneva, and the Jura, back into France. The space 
j of time being from October 1821 to September 1825); containing 
I a Description of the Country, of the principal Cities and their most 
, striking Curiosities; of the Climate, Soil, Agriculture, Horticul- 
ture, and Products ; of the Prices of Provisions and of Labour; 
and of the Dresses and Conditions of the Peo()ie. And also some 
Account of the Laws and Customs, Civil and Religio»is, ami of the 
Morals and Demeanor of the Inhabitants in the several States, j 

TOVB. IN SCOTI.A.N-I>. 

TOUR IN SCOTLAND by Mr. Cobbett : the tour taken in the 
autumn of 1832, and the book written during the tour. It is a 
small duodecimo volume, the price of which is two shillings and 
sixpence. 

7. LAW. 

IWCAltTBIffS'S Z.AW OP WATIOM'S. 

COBBETT'S TRANSLATION OF MARTENS'S LAW OF 
NATIONS {Price I7s.) ; being the Science of National Law, 
Covenants, Power, &c. Founded upon the Treaties and Customs 
of Modern Nations in Europe. By G. F. Von Mahtkns, Professor 
of Public Law in the University of Gottingen. Translated from 
the French, by Wm. Co&bett. To which is added, a List of the 
Principal Treaties, Declarations, and other Public Papers, from 
the Year 1731 to 1738, by the Author ; and continued by the 
Translator down to November 1815. (Tlie Fourth Edition.) — This 
is a large Octavo. It was one of my first literary labotirs. 
excellent Common- Place Book to the Law of Nations. — W. C. ^ 

THB I. AW OF TTTZtltrPISES. 

MR. WM. COBBETT'S LAW OF TURNPIKES {Price 3s.'e4!^ . 
or, an Analytical Arrangement of, and Illustrative Coniments ao 
all the General Acts relative to tiie Turnpike Roads of England • 
the whole being in Answer to the following Questions* — 1st. What 
are the General Acts now in Force? 2i;d. What is the Extent-of 
them 1 3rd. How do they affect every Turnpike Road] By Wm. 
Cobbett, Junior. — Never was anything more neatly arranged , or 
more clearly explained in few words. If every Magistrate had h, 
what blumiering decisions it would prevent 1 — W. C. 



12 LlS.'i:,;OT Mu. CjQJiBET/L^S BoOKS^ I 

8. MISCELLANEOUS POLITICS. ' i 

COI.I.ECTZVS COMlVIEXTTiLB.ZSS. J 

COBBErrS COLLECTIVE COMMENTARIES : or, R^- 
marks on the Proceeding;* in the Collective Wisdom of the Nation, 
during the Session which began on the 5th of February, and 
ended on the 6th of August, in the 3rd year of the Reign of King 
Georgette Fourth, and in tlie year of our Lord 1822 ; being the 
Third Session of the First Parliament of that King. To which 
are subjoined, a complete List of the Acts passed during the 
Session, with Elucidations; and other Notices and Matters; 
forming, altogether, a short but clear Histor}' of the Collective 
Wisdom for the year. This is an octavo book, and the price is (is. 

TWO-PENN-Y TZLASH, 

TWO-PENNY TRASH, complete in two vols., 12mo. 

Pi ke only o.v. for the 2 vols. 

This is the Library that I have created. It really makes I 
a tolerable shelf of books ; a man who understands the 
contents of which, may be deemed a man of great informa- 
tion. In about every one of these works I have pleaded the 
cause of the ivorking peo-ple ; and T shall now see that cause ' 
triumph, in spite of all that can be done to prevent it. — 
W. C. _______ ' 

Just ])ubl}s/ied, price 6s., boards, i 
A NEW^ AND IMPROVED EDITION 

OF I 

THE ENGLISH HOUSEKEEPER; 1 

OR, 

JHanunl 0{ I30mc^t{c iillnn.iticntciTt : 

Containing Advice on the Conduct of Household Affairs, in a 
Separate Treatise on each particular Department, and Practical 
Instructions concerning 

THE KITCHEN, I THE CELLAR, I THE OVEX, I THE STORE-ROOM, 
THE LARDER, \ THE PANTRY, j THE DAIRY, j THE BREWHOUSBs 
Together with 

Hints for Laying Out Small Ornamental Gardens ; Directions for 
Cultivating and Preserving Herbs ; and some Remarks on the best 
Means of Rendering Assistance to Poor Neighbours.' '. j^ ; 

FOR THE USE OF YOUNG LADIES ' " ' 

^HO UNDERTAKE THE SUPERINTENUKNCE OF THEIR OWN KOUSEKSEPING-i 

BY ANNE COBBETT. 



Printed by Mills and Son, Gough-square, Fleet-street. 

Hi) 2, ^ 



to hy a (jrcncr; ^ . ims jn-icc me oix v oiumes 6vo. is 21. i{)s. bds. 



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